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After a stint in the hospitality sector, Randy Geise moved to healthcare design and in 1997 was hired by Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland) – And he hasn’t looked back since. Here, he discusses applying hospitality lessons to his work to make healthcare environments less clinical. He also shares some highlights of what his home city has to offer, which will be on display when the HCD Show heads there this fall.
What drew you to a career in healthcare design?
I made the transition from hotel facilities, project management, and design when the hospitality industry declined in 1990. I had worked at Hyatt Hotels in Kansas City, Missouri; Puerto Rico; And the company’s office is in Chicago when a friend at Eaglestone Children’s Hospital in Atlanta told me about a job planning space there.
What is your first healthcare project?
Facility diagram of a toilet/shower/bathroom training room for an inpatient rehabilitation unit at Egleston.
What design lesson from this project do you still carry with you today?
I was able to leverage my experience at Hyatt to create an environment that feels more like a hotel than a hospital by providing upgraded fixtures and finishes to make the space look less medical.
What is the one thing people should know about Cleveland?
We have the largest performing arts center (Playhouse Square) in the United States outside of New York City.
Three things on your desk
1 copy of “Let’s Work as a Unit: The Story of the Cleveland Clinic.”
Two sets of vintage postcards from Cleveland Clinic.
3 headphones for all those remote meetings we have right now.
What is your hidden talent?
Stand-up comedy. She has participated in the Cleveland Comedy Festival and has performed at several local venues,
I took my show on the way to Las Vegas and London
Out of the office, we’ll probably find you
In my lumber shop downstairs, he refinished antiques, making furniture, charcuterie boards, and beer and wine bags. I recently started turning bowls on my wood lathe.
Favorite city to visit
Tybee Island, Ga. It is my family’s favorite vacation spot.
Three healthcare projects you worked on last year and your turn ودور
1 Cleveland Clinic London, expected to open in the first quarter of 2022, healthcare facility scheme.
2 Hope Hospital, temporary COVID-19 escalation facility, healthcare facility outline.
3 Lerner Research Institute and Institute of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, several projects related to COVID-19, health care facility blueprint.
Dog or cat?
We have a Boston Terrier named Peanut that my family can’t get enough of.
A morning person or a night owl?
Early morning exercises. I can’t stay up after 10 pm
How did you make your first dollar?
Cut the grass. $3 per park in the early ’70s.
Favorite Quote
“Be too kind because everyone you meet is fighting each other
kind of fight. – J.M. Barrie.
If you weren’t a healthcare facility planner, you would be…
Elementary math teacher by day and comedian by night.
You have an irrational fear of…
movie delayed. Our family was too late and couldn’t get tickets to see the opening of “Jaws” in 1975. They were left behind for life!
A cocktail of your choice?
beer. Cleveland has some great local breweries: Market Garden Brewery, Great Lakes Brewing Co. , Fat Head’s Brewery, and Platform Beer Co. and Sibling Revelry Brewery.
