High-Profile: June 2026 | Page 16

16 High-Profile Focus: Healthcare Facilities June 2026

Anastasia Barnes, CEO of High-Profile Monthly, recently caught up with Colby Cavanagh, healthcare and sciences studio leader at Maugel DeStefano Architects, to talk about her work designing healthcare facilities and the strategies and procedures she feels ensure success on any project.

Anastasia Barnes: What drew you into the architectural world, and when did you realize healthcare and life sciences was the niche you wanted to focus on?

Colby Cavanagh: I took my first architectural drafting course at my high school’ s vocational technical program and immediately loved the way it combined my passions for art and math. My instructor was a Wentworth alumnus, and after touring the campus, I knew architecture was the right path for me. After graduating from Wentworth Institute of Technology with my Masters in Architecture, I joined Maugel Architects. I have had the great opportunity to work on a wide variety of project types but healthcare quickly became a favorite. I get to experience our clients’ passion and the rewarding nature of creating environments that support healing and promote well-being. I genuinely enjoy helping clients navigate complex challenges to create spaces that

Colby Cavanagh

are both beautiful and highly functional. AB: When you’ re working on a healthcare( or life sciences) project, where do you feel you add the most value?

CC: Communication and organization are essential to a project’ s success. In healthcare design especially, bringing the right team together at the right time is critical. Healthcare systems are complex, with many moving parts and dedicated staff who rely on their environments to perform their jobs effectively. Listening to these key stakeholders and gathering thoughtful input is incredibly

Woburn Pediatric Associates / Photo by Robert Umenhofer Photography

important in shaping successful design solutions. By understanding their workflows, challenges, and goals, we create environments that are both highly functional and supportive of the people who use them every day.

AB: Often, projects are as much about operations as they are design. How do you take what clinicians or researchers actually do day to day and turn that into a space that supports them?

CC: We begin by listening and understanding how clients currently work and navigate within their existing spaces. Once we understand the flow of care, we can identify opportunities to improve adjacencies and create efficiencies that support day-to-day operations. Our approach considers the full picture of how clinicians and patients move through a space, allowing us to streamline circulation and reduce travel time between areas. Ultimately, the goal is to create environments that improve accessibility, enhance workflow, and give healthcare staff more time to deliver the best possible care to their patients.

AB: What do you think is changing right now in healthcare and life sciences, whether that’ s technology, flexibility, or speed? And how is that impacting the way you design?

CC: I think it’ s a combination of all three. Technology is evolving faster than ever, so designing spaces with flexibility for future advancements is incredibly important. For example, the process of checking in for an appointment is now often completed ahead of time through an app or patient portal before someone even steps into the facility. This creates a smoother transfer of information, reduces wait times, and helps patients be seen by physicians more quickly. As a result, many healthcare facilities are shifting away from large waiting rooms and reception areas in favor of expanded clinical spaces that support more efficient patient care.

Healthcare systems are inherently complex, and any opportunity to make the experience more user-friendly and efficient for both patients and staff has a meaningful impact. Well executed design improves workflow, enhances the patient experience, and better supports healthcare teams in delivering care.

AB: When a project goes really well, what do you think made the difference?

CC: A successful project starts with a strong team and a clearly defined set of goals. Establishing those goals early on in the process and continually evaluating them throughout every phase of the project guides decision making and makes problem solving more effective. Healthcare work is centered around solving complex challenges, and having a collaborative, reliable project team, which includes the key stakeholders, is essential. Being able to draw on the team’ s collective expertise to identify solutions and achieve the best possible outcomes is critical to a project’ s success.

Sturdy Memorial Hospital / Photo by Matt Kalinowski Photography www. high-profile. com