Honoring the 2024 Hospital Design360 Competition winners

All of the 2024 Hospital Design360 Competition winners receiving their awards at the Fetch Kansas City conference

During the Fetch Kansas City conference in Kansas City, Missouri, dvm360® honored its 3 grand prize winners of the 2024 Hospital Design360 Competition. This year’s winners were Blue Cross Animal Clinic in the larger than 8000 sq feet category, Habitat Veterinary Hospital, for the 3500 to 800 sq ft category, and Vet Vision Center, for the smaller than 3500 sq ft category.

“On behalf of dvm360, welcome to the 2024 Hospital Design360 Competition awards lunch sponsored by dvm360 and the Fetch Veterinary conferences. It's an absolute honor to stand before you today as we celebrate excellence in one of the most vital aspects of veterinary medicine: hospital design. This afternoon, we recognize not just the bricks and mortars that make up these remarkable facilities, but also the vision, the dedication, the true obstacles and creativity that have brought them to life,” stated Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, dvm360’s chief veterinary officer, as he welcomed the crowd to the event.

The hospital design contest, which will be celebrating its 60th year in 2025, awards both grand prize winners and multiple merit winners for their hospital design features that make them stick out as well as provide the best experiences for staff, clients, and patients. Throughout the lunch, each of the 3 grand prize winners was invited to present their hospital, talk about their journeys, and highlight aspects of the design that they were proud of or excited to showcase to the room. From transforming old diners to building from the ground up, each hospital brought to the table an incredible design that improved the standard and access to care for patients in their area.

One of the winning hospitals, Vet Vision Center, highlighted the fact that from previously attending Fetch conference lectures and reading articles on hospital design dos and don'ts, she was able to find the perfect pre-existing building for her clinic. The building was a former diner that was popular and was in a great location for her town, Lambertville, New Jersey. After ups and downs with the rebuilding, including discovering an addition to the building put on by the former owners did not have a foundation and a crushed septic tank, she was able to maintain the original structure of the building and even add additional natural light options to brighten up as many spaces in the hospital as possible.

A piece of Shelby Reinstein, DVM, MS, DACVO, owner of Vet Vision Center, had for audience attendees is to create a hospital for staff and patients but to not forget to make some type of moment for clients as well.

“If I can leave you guys with anything it is to create a fun moment for clients. Create a social moment, right? A place where someone's going to tag your hospital, or someone's going to take a selfie. Whether that be the case or not, I've seen those cool treat-yourself walls, right? Just put something fun in there and make it exciting for your clients. Going that extra mile for your clients, because they're cool matters, right? We talk a lot about the design for the animals and all that, but ultimately, most pets don't walk in by themselves. You want your clients to have that experience where you're going to provide them with excellent care,” Reinstein explained.

To all our amazing grand prize winners and merit winners, congratulations again from all of us here at dvm360. Creating and building a hospital has its ups and downs and challenges, but the hard work and attention to detail shined in all these hospitals. You can learn more about each winner in our August cover story.

For any hospital owner out there interested in submitting your hospital for the 2025 Hospital Design360 Competition, stay tuned for the application announcement!