Jane M. Rohde, AIA, FIIDA, ASID, ACHA, CHID

December 2020 Pioneer Award recipient

Jane Rohde has amassed an impressive catalog of achievements with a singular focus: to elevate the quality of life and care for older adults, particularly through the design of long-term care facilities. Consequently, her work benefits environmental designers and health care providers alike. Ms. Rohde diplomatically works across and between disciplines to address gaps between design, regulation, policy, and practice.

The depth and breadth of Ms. Rohde’s knowledge demonstrate her mastery of and agility in responding to the contextualized needs of vulnerable populations and complex sets of circumstances. Recognizing the practice- and need-based differences between health care settings and environments built for elders and other vulnerable populations, Ms. Rohde championed a fundamental shift in the structure of the Guidelines documents. The result of that shift was the creation of a new publication specific to residential and elderly care facilities, the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Residential Health, Care, and Support Facilities.

Everyone who has the good fortune to work closely with Ms. Rohde recognizes that she creates and fosters a collegial atmosphere that inspires colleagues to expand personal horizons and advance industry knowledge to benefit older adults and those working on their behalf. Paradigm-changing individuals like Ms. Rohde are a rare and precious commodity. She embodies the vision of the Facility Guidelines Institute: to be a leader in guiding the development of the health and residential care built environment.