Montana State University assistant nursing professor Elizabeth Johnson has earned recognition by the magazine Healthcare Design for her outstanding leadership in pushing the industry of healthcare design forward.
The publication hosts annual HCD 10 awards to recognize individuals and organizations across 10 categories for advancing the field of healthcare design, which focuses on how architecture and design elements of physical healthcare spaces shape patient experience and health outcomes.
Johnson, who teaches in the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing, won the HCD 10 award in the “educator” category. Other categories included architect, building professor, interior designer, researcher and more.
Coverage of the winners and their achievements will be featured in the June/July issue of Healthcare Design, available in print and online. Additionally, honorees will be recognized at an awards gala in June and during the 2026 Healthcare Design Conference and Expo in New Orleans this October.
At MSU, Johnson has mentored many students pursuing healthcare design research, and this academic year she co-led a team with architecture professor Jordan Zignego to compete at the invitation-only American College of Healthcare Architects student design competition.
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The competing students, TJ Dubler and Jeff Lee, presented their interior and exterior renderings of a remodeled Phillips County Hospital in Malta, based on real-world feedback from providers at the hospital and the space’s current limitations. Johnson instructed the students on how design choices such as signage, colors and the way in which doors open play a key role in both patient experience and employee workflow.
Johnson has been an assistant professor at MSU since 2022. She received her Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Arizona.
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“We are extremely proud of Dr. Johnson for earning recognition from Healthcare Design for her impressive work mentoring and educating students in the field of healthcare design,” said Sarah Shannon, dean of the nursing college. “Liz exemplifies the power and benefits of interdisciplinary work in her collaboration with engineering, architecture and computer science. Her work benefits communities across Montana and truly exemplifies the goal of our land-grant mission.”
