Environments for Aging - Winter 2022 - 23

NATE JOHNSON STUDIO
Jill Schroeder
CID, NCIDQ, SENIOR PLANNER, POPE DESIGN GROUP
(ST. PAUL, MINN.)
residents and staff -and sort of predicting human
behavior in relation to the layout and fl ow of a room
or cluster of spaces. I started to let go of the fi nishes
in a space and began looking at it architecturally in
terms of realistic uses and fl ows. Big-picture thinking
like shifting and repositioning or getting deeper
into the overall planning of space adjacencies and
confi gurations all the way to more subtle details like
traffi c fl ow, sight lines, and visual anchors can make
a tremendous diff erence. Th is approach helps me
thoughtfully and sensibly improve resident and staff
lives in a way that makes sense for the people who
are going to be using the spaces every day.
WellSpire, The Summit of Bettendorf, Bettendorf, Iowa
J
ILL SCHROEDER HAS dedicated her career
to senior living design, driven by a passion
for improving environments for aging that
sets the bar and the tone for her workplace of Pope
Design Group. She's a national leader in promoting
the creation of homelike environments and speaks
frequently on topics including how to design for
resident wellness and quality of life. Although a certifi
ed interior designer, she shifted gears years ago
to become a planner who now digs into the intricacies
of operations, as well, to help owners/operators
achieve more eff ective and effi cient environments.
Schroeder has contributed to several
award-winning projects, a recent example being
WesleyLife Cottages at Hearthstone in Johnston,
Iowa. Th ere, she helped guide the project
that delivers numerous wellness opportunities
to residents in an environment reminiscent
of high-end communities but at an affordable
price point for its Midwest location. Schroeder
has off ered her expertise to the industry at large
recently, too, serving on the Health Guidelines
Revision Committee of the Facility Guidelines
Institute (FGI) for the 2022 guidelines revision cycle
(she's also on board for 2026) and as vice-chair
of the Residential Health Subcommittee for FGI's
" Guidance for Designing Health and Residential
Care Facilities that Respond and Adapt to Emergency
Conditions " white paper. Each represents
an effort to contribute to the safety and wellbeing
of senior living residents. And in her ongoing
eff orts to ensure residents are secure, Schroeder
specifi cally focuses on the resident bathroom to
identify eff ective yet practical solutions, like zero
threshold environments, and even works directly
with manufacturers to innovate new off erings.
EFA: What has a shift from interior designer to
planner allowed you to do in your work?
Schroeder: It was about 20 years ago as an interior
designer that I started to question why certain adjacencies
were occurring: " Why is this room over
here and that room over there? Th is one should be
closer to that one, and this other one will almost always
be empty so why's it included to begin with? " I
began watching how people moved within spaces-
What inspired you to work with FGI on the new
residenti al guidelines?
My interest originated around the definition of a
household kitchen, as I sometimes found it hard to
design these kitchens with a truly residential aesthetic
when considering equipment needs and logistics
of staff use and safety for all. From the very
fi rst meetings with the FGI revision team, I dove into
it all. Clarifi cations in language that needed updating
to be current with how we design today became
a big effort (e.g., handrails in common areas and
corridors). Addressing needs specifi c to hospice care
or chronic pain management was needed, as well.
Where is there opportunity to innovate more in
senior living?
Right now, innovation is needed in planning on how
we size senior living units. It's always been the case
that residents want more and more square footage
as they transition from their home to live within a
community. I'd like to explore how a signifi cant reduction
in the size of kitchen appliances and cabinetry
can grow the square footage of the living room
space. Th ese changes might be more expensive as a
fi rst cost, but the space added to the living area could
enhance the apartment's desirability. Construction
costs are rising yet rent rates still need to be attainable
to the typical ready-to-move-in-senior.
winter 2022 | 23
Environments for Aging - Winter 2022

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