GROUNDSWELL CASE STUDY
Designing a supportive environment that helps oncology staff navigate and manage grief and burnout
ROLE
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Experience Designer
Content Designer
Visual Designer
Project Coordinator
TEAM
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Designers
Fabricators & Engineers
Hospital Staff
Hospital Administrations
Subject Matter Experts
Donators
TIMELINE
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Research & Concept:
Jan–May 2025
Production & Implementation:
June–October 2025
Live System & Study:
Nov 2025–Present
CONTEXT
Groundswell began as a graduate project and evolved into a grant-funded pilot with UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
It integrates multiple touchpoints to support oncology staff well-being: redesigned patient death notifications, print- and digital-based guided restorative resources, a restorative pod, and a community messaging wall.
I co-led the initiative from concept through execution, aligning stakeholders, managing timelines, and adapting the system to hospital requirements and constraints.
With a healthcare-informed design background, I focused on shaping the overall Groundswell experience—especially how staff interact with the restorative pod. I also helped define how engagement could be measured for hospital administration. Alongside this, I contributed to visual design across system components to maintain consistency across physical, digital, and environmental touchpoints.
PROBLEM SPACE
Oncology staff experience sustained emotional strain
While wellness resources exist, they are separated from daily workflows, difficult to access during shifts, and fragmented across informal and institutional systems. Staff often manage grief, fatigue, and emotional labor without dedicated time or space for recovery.
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
Integrating restoration into daily routines
Groundswell is a connected system of interventions designed to support short, structured emotional recovery within clinical workflows.
RESEARCH
Interviews, shadowing, and workshops revealed staff carry cumulative emotional weight without time or space to process
Our team facilitated three participatory workshops:
Women in White Coats: Orchid Poster
Grief Workshop
Nourishing the Flower
Using affinity mapping, my team and I identified four key opportunities, informing the design and operational structure of each Groundswell component.
For our concept pitch, we developed an integrated system consisting of a redesigned CTB communication system, a restorative pod, a community reflection wall, and a stewardship, onboarding guide.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
The project shifted significantly once it moved from concept into a live hospital system
Rather than following a linear design process, Groundswell required continuous negotiation between design intent, clinical reality, and institutional constraints.
1. Built through constraints, not just design intent
Hospital administration required three constraints for the open-concept donated pod: lockable doors, a strict 10-minute limit, and a strategy to ensure staff respected the space.
Instead of letting these constraints limit us, we used them to design a restorative experience. We placed the pod in a hospital nook behind a custom, floral facade that seamlessly integrated into the architecture. To manage time and behavior, I, working alongside another designer, integrated intuitive time-tracking cues, interactive mindfulness content, and clear signage.
2. Not everything made it to implementation
Due to tight timelines and limited bandwidth, we replaced the Groundswell Guidebook with print-based Reflection Cards, condensing core insights into a tool staff could use immediately without heavy training. Similarly, our planned digital garden shifted into a physical Community Art Wall, giving us a low-risk, live prototype to test real interaction right away.
3. Continuous iteration for resonance and compliance
In an emotionally-sensitive and highly regulated healthcare environment, our designs had to resonate with staff while satisfying hospital compliance. We ran continuous iteration loops directly with staff, administration, and subject matter experts. This collaborative process allowed us to constantly balance feasibility with emotional safety.
4. Playtesting led to content refinement
Playtesting allowed us to continuously test and simplify our content based on real-time feedback. Working alongside another designer, I co-facilitated these playtesting sessions by developing participant scenarios, crafting interview questions, and directly executing the iterative updates based on our findings. By watching how staff actually interacted with the tools, we simplified instructions in the pod to lower cognitive load and make the experience better.
FINAL SOLUTION
Groundswell is integrated into hospital operations to support short, structured emotional recovery
It does this through a restorative pod, a community art wall, an updated “Ceased to Breath” patient death notification system, and guided reflective resources.
Integrated Within Hospital Operations
The Groundswell Pod was embedded into hospital architecture. A redesigned CTB email invites engagement, the adjacent community wall extends reflection beyond the Pod, and spatial placement ensures accessibility across departments.
Sacred, Intentional Space
The Groundswell Pod interior supports focused restoration through guided reflection cards, finger labyrinths, and a QR-linked mindfulness library. Ambient backlighting and soft white noise create a calm, contained environment within a clinical setting.
Guided, Time-Aware Experience
To maintain operational continuity, the experience is structured around brief, supported use. An hourglass and color-shifting backlights signal the 10-minute limit, while occupancy lighting and Pod Cards enable respectful handoffs between staff.
IMPACT AND NEXT STEPS
Groundswell launched as a 12-month quality improvement study at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
Early use showed strong emotional response from staff during launch and continued engagement. Partnering with UPMC, we are collecting data through pod usage, message wall interactions, surveys, and interviews. The study is scheduled to complete June 2026.
REFLECTION
What made Groundswell successful wasn’t just the idea, it was how we implemented it
Successful implementation depended on aligning care-centered design with hospital operational constraints, building trust through incremental, adaptive delivery.
Acknowledgements
