SmithGroup, an integrated design firm, has hired experienced healthcare architect Wayne Barger to lead its global Health Practice. In this role, Barger heads SmithGroup’s Health studios that provide planning and design services across a broad spectrum of facility types including academic medicine, acute and ambulatory care, behavioral health, oncology, emergency medicine, rehabilitation, senior living, translational health sciences, and women’s and children’s health. He is based in SmithGroup’s Dallas, Texas office.

“Health is our largest practice at SmithGroup, and we know that leading such a diverse and vibrant team requires just the right kind of talent,” says Mike Medici, SmithGroup’s president and managing partner. “Wayne brings that precise mix of expertise, passion for leadership, and forward-thinking nature that will serve SmithGroup well as we chart our new course to design a better future.”

SmithGroup’s Health Practice encompasses a range of specialty expertise, including strategic facility planning and design for all types of public and private health organizations around the world. The firm is the nation’s 7th largest healthcare architecture firm according to Building Design + Construction magazine. In the last five years, SmithGroup’s Health Practice has completed more than 20 million square feet of hospitals and specialty care facilities.

Barger leads the practice in a time when the healthcare market is experiencing rapidly changing care models. The practice seeks to redefine the healthcare experience to respond to these changes through initiatives like their IdeaLab series. IdeaLab examines potential disruptors in healthcare, like artificial intelligence or increasing global urbanization, and uses design and speculative thinking to address these future challenges so that clients are ready to meet them.

Barger joins SmithGroup after serving as senior vice president at CallisonRTKL in its Healthcare Practice Group. There, he developed a long roster of award-winning healthcare projects for a variety of clients including the branches of the Department of Defense and systems like UT Southwestern Medical Center, Cook Children’s Health Care System, CHI St. Luke’s Health, Methodist Health System, Community Health Network, Medical City Dallas, UCHealth, and San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center. 

Barger is a graduate of Kent State University with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Architecture. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, Dallas chapter, and previously served as chapter treasurer and a member of its board of directors. He is also a board member for the Dallas Architecture and Design Foundation. A native of Toledo, Ohio, Barger is now a resident of Coppell, Texas.