Pamela James Blumgart, Longtime Managing Editor and Pillar of FGI, Passes Away

FLORENCE, MA. – The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Pamela James Blumgart on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Pamela, a remarkable editor, colleague, mentor, and friend, was instrumental in shaping FGI’s Guidelines documents and white papers over the past 26 years. Her work leaves an enduring mark on FGI and the field of health care design.

Pamela’s journey with FGI began in 1998 as an employee of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), where she was assigned to assist with the 2001 edition of the Guidelines. At that time, the Guidelines was a modest 142-page guide, loosely organized and lacking the structure needed to serve as the gold standard in health care design. Under Pamela’s meticulous eye and steadfast dedication, the Guidelines was transformed into a comprehensive, authoritative standard for the planning, design, and construction of hospitals, outpatient facilities, and residential health, care, and support facilities.

After the successful publication of the 2001 edition of the Guidelines, Pamela continued to put her indelible mark on subsequent editions. For the 2006 edition, she successfully led a massive effort to reorganize and renumber the document. As managing editor of the 2014 and 2018 editions, Pamela was instrumental in separating the residential and outpatient requirements from the Guidelines to create three standalone publications.

Pamela’s contribution to FGI during the 2022 cycle included supporting the work of the Outpatient Document Group and assisting with the development of two white papers: “Patient Handling and Mobility Assessments (PHAMA), 2nd ed.” and “Guidance for Designing Health and Residential Care Facilities that Respond and Adapt to Emergency Conditions,” which was developed and published during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, Pamela was working on separating the code text from the advisory language in the documents for the 2026 edition.

Pamela’s impact, however, went far beyond the pages of the documents she so carefully edited. With her characteristic warmth and wit, Pamela guided hundreds of professionals through the complex and daunting revision process. She had a rare talent for balancing the intricacies of editorial work with the human side of collaboration, making everyone she worked with feel valued and respected. Her long history with the Guidelines also made Pamela a unique historian of the process. She recalled “mailing out big stacks of paper” with all the proposals and later all the comments to each Health Guidelines Revision Committee (HGRC) member before the widespread use of the internet. In those early days, she often worked alone, with only one freelance editor and interested volunteers to support the HGRC during meetings.

In 2021, Pamela was awarded the FGI Pioneer Award, which honors select individuals and organizations of outstanding character who influence or create the future of health and residential care facility design and construction through their contributions and support of the mission and vision of FGI.

“Navigating the complexities of codes and standards is tough, but Pamela had a remarkable gift to shape and refine even the most challenging content,” FGI CEO Heather Livingston says. “For more than 25 years, Pamela dedicated her work to improving FGI and the clarity of the Guidelines documents. She set the highest standards for FGI for years to come. Pamela was a dear friend, a wonderful mentor, and an all-around lovely person.”

A memorial service is planned for August 24 at 1 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. Her family has shared that memorials be made to the American Farmland Trust, part of the conservation agriculture movement fighting against climate change, and DC Greens, a local regenerative farm. Pamela will be deeply missed by all who knew and worked with her. Her legacy of editorial excellence, dedication, warmth, and kindness will live on in the Guidelines, in health care and residential care facilities in the U.S. and abroad, and in the hearts of those she touched.

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About the Facility Guidelines Institute

Founded in 1998, the Facility Guidelines Institute is a not-for-profit corporation founded to provide leadership and continuity to the Guidelines for Design and Construction/FGI Facility Code revision process. FGI functions as the coordinating entity for development of the Guidelines/FGI Facility Code documents using a multidisciplinary, consensus-based process and for provision of ancillary services that encourage and improve their application and use.

 

About the FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction/FGI Facility Code Documents

The FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction/FGI Facility Code documents are updated every four years to keep pace with new concepts, capabilities, and technologies in the delivery of health and residential care. The Guidelines/FGI Facility Code documents are used by states, through adoption by reference, to regulate health and residential care facility design and construction. FGI relies on revenue from sales of the documents to fund research and the activities of the HGRC for the next revision cycle. The Guidelines/FGI Facility Code documents are protected by copyright and authorized licenses and paperbacks are available exclusively at https://shop.fgiguidelines.org.

FGI press release Pamela James Blumgart