The millennial generation is all grown up. The youngest millennials are heading into their 20s, the oldest are in their mid-30s. Individuals in this demographic, which has overtaken the baby boomers as the largest age cohort in the U.S., not only are making decisions about their own health care, they are driving care decisions for their children and parents.
To serve the needs of this large and influential segment of the health care market, providers and designers are looking to create facilities built for a new generation.
Frank Zilm, D. Arch., FAIA, FACHA, Chester Dean Director of the Institute for Health+Wellness Design at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, says that to address the needs of a new patient population, health care and design professionals should begin by researching places the people in question tend to congregate.
“What’s the kind of environment they’re comfortable in, and to what degree can we respond to that in terms of a health care environment?” he asks. “I would want to know more about the behavioral patterns and typical situations of the population, to see to what degree we can reflect or support that in the physical environment we’re trying to create in the health care world.”