What Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design (NIHD) does

NIHD is a 501(c)(6) non-profit professional association founded in 2010 by Debbie Gregory and Laura Hayes to integrate the nursing voice into healthcare design decisions. The organization serves nurses and clinical leaders, architecture and engineering firms, healthcare manufacturers, academic institutions, and trade groups, with a stated membership of "hundreds" across North America. Its core thesis is that clinician participation improves built-environment outcomes, and the organization positions itself as the convening layer between practicing nurses and the design community that shapes hospitals, clinics, and ambulatory facilities.

NIHD's product surface is education- and community-oriented rather than technology-oriented. Offerings include monthly webinars, the "Translating Knowledge to Design" e-book (originally co-published with Herman Miller Healthcare in 2015), toolkits, scholarships and fellowships, a Registry of Fellows, and the inaugural DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurse Leader in Healthcare Design presented at HCD 2024. The organization maintains three conference partnerships: Association Partner at Healthcare Design Expo + Conference, Supporting Organization at the PDC Summit, and Association Sponsor at the inaugural Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo (HFSE) in 2025. It also operates a three-tier partner program (Academic, Industry, Professional) and a separate 501(c)(3) NIHD Foundation that funds scholarships and program development.

The business model is membership-dues-driven, with annual individual pricing at $199 (regular), $75 (student), and $169 (group of 5+), supplemented by partner subscription tiers and event co-marketing revenue. NIHD is volunteer-led by a board that includes senior figures from NBBJ, The Haskell Company, Page, and Stanford Medicine Children's Health, with incoming 2026 President Elizabeth Johnson, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, and President-Elect Susan Bower, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. The organization runs on a 1–10 employee base, has no disclosed financials, and derives no material revenue from software, licensing, or AI products.

Name

Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design (NIHD)

Legal name

Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design, Inc.

Website

https://nursingihd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NIHD is a 501(c)(6) professional association founded in 2010 that integrates nursing clinicians into healthcare design decision-making, serving nurses, AEC firms, manufacturers, and academic institutions across North America through membership, education, and conference partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Fees: NIHD generates primary revenue through tiered annual membership fees: Regular membership at $199/year, Student membership at $75/year, and Group membership at $169/year for groups of 5 or more. The organization also generates revenue through industry partner, academic partner, and professional partner subscriptions at various partnership levels (Collaborator, Innovator, Visionary).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NIHD is a 501(c)(6) non-profit professional association that provides annual membership-based access to educational webinars, professional toolkits, conferences, and networking resources for nurses, clinicians, design professionals, and industry partners engaged in healthcare facility planning and design. Members gain RN CNE and EDAC continuing education credits, scholarship and award opportunities, and exclusive resources such as the e-book "Nurses as Leaders in Healthcare Design."

Product overview

NIHD operates as a professional membership association rather than a unified software product. The core offering is the NIHD Membership Program, which provides access to educational webinars (NIHD Webinar Archive), professional resources including toolkits (Tech Check, R.A.I.S.E., Transition Planning, Setting the Foundation), and the E-Book "Nurses as Leaders in Healthcare Design." Additional membership benefits include scholarships and awards programs, conference partnerships, a Registry of Fellows, and partner programs. These offerings are designed to advance clinical expertise integration in healthcare design planning and construction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NIHD Membership Program Annual membership program offering tiered subscriptions (Regular $199, Student $75, Group $169 for 5+) with access to webinars, newsletters, professional resources, networking, and member-only features for nurses, clinicians, and design professionals involved in healthcare design.
• NIHD Webinar Archive Monthly educational and research webinars on healthcare design projects, research, and building guidelines offered to members, providing RN, CNE, and EDAC continuing education credits. Archives span from 2015 to present.
• Nurses as Leaders in Healthcare Design E-Book Free digital e-book for members covering nurses' and inter-professional partners' roles in planning and design of healthcare environments, including 10 chapters plus afterword, available for download by chapter.
• NIHD Partner Programs Partnership subscription program with tiered categories (Collaborator, Innovator, Visionary) for Industry Partners (manufacturers, vendors, A&E firms), Academic Partners (universities), and Professional Partners (trade groups, 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) organizations), offering networking, recognition, and collaboration opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• NIHD has been an Association Partner of Healthcare Design Conference + Expo and Supporting Organization of PDC Summit for multiple years, demonstrating sustained industry recognition.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo (HFSE)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025NIHD joined HFSE as an official Association Sponsor in 2025. HFSE is one of the nation's largest events focused on healthcare design and facilities, uniting architects, designers, engineers, contractors, and providers.
• Healthcare Design Conference + Expo (HCD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024NIHD is a proud Association Partner of Healthcare Design Conference + Expo (HCD). Members assist in the abstract review process and NIHD works with HCD to curate a Clinical Perspectives Track offering nursing continuing education. As an Association Partner, NIHD hosts events including a member dinner, Pre-Conference Workshop, a reception, and a booth in the exhibit hall.
• PDC Summit (International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024NIHD is a proud Supporting Organization of the PDC Summit. Members assist in the abstract review process and NIHD works with ASHE to offer nursing continuing education for approved sessions. NIHD has been part of the PDC Student Design Challenge since 2018, supporting the clinical voice of the next generation of healthcare designers.
• Herman Miller HealthcareminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015In 2015, Herman Miller Healthcare partnered with NIHD to produce the book 'Nurses as Leaders in Healthcare Design: A Resource for Nurses and Inter-professional Partners.' This e-book is provided as a free digital download to NIHD members and represents a key educational resource.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• The Center for Health Design: A non-profit research and advocacy organization also dedicated to improving healthcare through evidence-based design. Directly comparable to NIHD as it operates in the same healthcare-design ecosystem, runs the EDAC certification that NIHD members prepare for, and convenes researchers and practitioners across nursing, architecture, and facilities.
• American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL): A membership organization for nurse leaders affiliated with the AHA. Comparable because it serves a similar nurse-leader persona and offers education, recognition, and advocacy, though its focus spans executive nursing leadership rather than healthcare design specifically.
• AIA Academy on Architecture for Health (AAH): An AIA knowledge community for architects specializing in healthcare facilities. Comparable because it is a membership-based community at the intersection of architecture and healthcare design, hosting conferences and education that overlap with NIHD's HCD and PDC Summit partnerships.
• Sigma (Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing): A large nursing honor society offering membership, continuing education, conferences, and grants. Comparable to NIHD as it operates a similar membership-plus-education model for nurses, though it spans all of nursing rather than the healthcare design niche.

Broad incumbents

• American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE): A professional membership group of the AHA serving healthcare facility professionals. Comparable to NIHD as it covers the healthcare facility planning, design, and operations community, but operates at broader scale and is not specifically focused on the nurse voice.
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI): A major healthcare improvement organization offering education, certification, and conferences. Comparable as a broader-scale membership and education organization targeting healthcare quality, with some overlap in audience with NIHD's nurse-leader members.
• Healthcare Design Magazine and Conference (Emerald): The publisher of the Healthcare Design Conference + Expo where NIHD serves as Association Partner. Comparable as the dominant media-and-conference platform for the healthcare design community, providing NIHD with one of its primary member acquisition channels.

Others

• Society for Health Systems (SHS): A community within IISE focused on improving healthcare delivery through systems engineering and operations research. Comparable to NIHD as an adjacent professional community that occasionally intersects with healthcare design through operational and process improvement content.

Emerging players

• DAISY Foundation: A foundation recognizing extraordinary nurses through awards programs. Comparable because NIHD co-developed the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurse Leader in Healthcare Design with the DAISY Foundation, and both operate recognition-based ecosystems within nursing.
• Health Facilities Management (HFMA community): A trade publication and community serving healthcare facility management professionals. Comparable to NIHD because its audience of healthcare facility managers, designers, and engineers overlaps with NIHD's industry-partner segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design (NIHD)