Baseball great Yogi Berra died this week at age 90. Some of you may remember him as a catcher, manager, and coach who played 19 seasons, most of them for the New York Yankees.

But most of us remember Yogi for his quirky, paradoxical quotes.  Here's a few that apply to most things in life, but I've put a spin on them for healthcare design:

When you come to a fork in the road, take it.

Every project has a fork in the road where doing something different will make a difference in the quality of healthcare and the patient experience. Convincing others to take it is the challenge.

You can observe a lot by just watching.

So true for healthcare. What would happen if the next time a firm is invited to interview for a hospital replacement or renovation project, the leader on its team spent the day before in the current facility, anonymously watching?

It's like deja vu all over again.

Even though we can learn from the past, there's nothing worse than just doing the same old thing. The projects in this year's Healthcare Design Showcase issue are all very nice (some nicer than others), but it's been awhile since there has been true innovation in healthcare design. We need to keep pushing the envelope.

It ain't over till it's over.

Ah, yes. Perhaps Yogi's most famous statement. Is it over in healthcare design once the project is built and operational? Quite the contrary.  That's when it really begins and we can learn the most.

Got a favorite Yogi quote?  Please share!

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