Gresham Smith is proud to announce that Doug Spies, AIA, MHA, LEED AP, has joined the firm as Senior Vice President and Advisory Services Program Director in the firm’s Healthcare market. Using his 25 years of experience, he will lead the firm’s team of professionals dedicated to providing strategic planning services for health systems, helping define projects and establish the broad direction of capital improvement programs.
Gresham Smith’s 55-year legacy supporting Healthcare clients with strategic planning and facilities development will act as a springboard for Doug to continue to grow the advisory services offered by the firm. He and his team will partner with clients to implement their strategic vision, with a focus on developing solutions that improve health outcomes, quality and patient and family satisfaction, while also decreasing length of stay and improving return on investment.
“Doug brings a unique combination of experience to this leadership role, having worked as both a healthcare architect and a health system facility development strategic planner during his career,” said Gresham Smith Executive Vice President Jim Langlois, AIA. “He has a strong track record of understanding the unique challenges the healthcare industry faces with capital project investment. He will be a great leader for our advisory services team and I’m proud to welcome him to Gresham Smith.”
“Health systems are facing unprecedented challenges—from increased demand and staffing shortages to supply chain constraints—which is why strategic planning is more important than ever. I’m excited to use my experience to help Gresham Smith’s clients respond to today’s challenges while also making smart decisions that position them for the future,” said Spies. “The healing spaces that we create facilitate the care that nurses and doctors provide to their patients—at the end of the day it’s about creating an exceptional space for them.”
Doug joins Gresham Smith from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UMPC), where he advised the Executive Management Team on strategic planning, operational improvements and campus development across the health system’s 40 hospitals and 800 clinical locations for the past 10 years. He provided oversight and direction to all architecture and engineering firms working on UPMC projects systemwide.
Doug has shared his insights on healthcare planning on a national scale, presenting to the Center for Health Design and the Hospital Services Support Foundation. He’s also served on leadership committees with the American College of Healthcare Architects, the Academy of Architecture for Health, the Facility Guidelines Institute, and the American Institute of Architects Pittsburgh chapter. Spies is a graduate of Walden University where he earned a Master of Healthcare Administration, as well as the University of Illinois – Chicago where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture.
