The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing at Montana State University will have its research featured in the upcoming “Healing Spaces” exhibition at London’s Florence Nightingale Museum. The exhibition, opening November 17 and running for a year, is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors.
Sarah Shannon, dean of the nursing college, commented on the significance of this recognition: “It is a distinct honor for the work of MSU nursing to be featured in the Florence Nightingale Museum. This demonstrates the caliber of our professors, the work they are doing and our deep commitment to pursuing MSU’s land-grant mission to Montana. The research done by the College of Nursing at MSU has real-world impacts; now these impacts will have an international stage and inspire nurse-led health care innovation worldwide.”
A central part of the exhibit will highlight research by Elizabeth Johnson, a professor at MSU’s nursing college. Johnson studies how design elements in health care environments affect patient outcomes, particularly in rural settings. She works with fellow nursing professor Julie Ruff, architecture professor Jordan Zignego, other MSU faculty members, and external partners.
Johnson’s research explores how factors such as lighting or flooring can influence patients’ experiences in clinical spaces. She noted that health care design within nursing is still an emerging field and said that MSU is recognized nationally for its contributions. The university offers graduate-level courses on health care design and supports student participation in national competitions related to this area.
Montana’s rural hospitals provide unique opportunities for collaboration on experimental ideas due to their smaller size and community focus, according to Johnson.
Among Johnson’s projects being showcased are virtual skylights installed in hospital rooms—developed with Texas A&M University researchers—to simulate natural light cycles for patients. These skylights have been implemented at Phillips County Hospital in Malta.
Another initiative called “The Kind Room” involves children designing their own hospital rooms by providing input on colors, furniture, and layouts that help them feel comfortable during treatment. This project is underway both in Malta and on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
Additional MSU innovations featured include TrialWear—a wearable device designed at MSU that alerts clinical trial participants when they enter medical facilities so providers can access their medical history. Eric Sproles, director of MSU’s Geospatial Core Facility and associate professor of Earth Sciences, along with lead developer Erich Schreier, contributed geofencing technology typically used for package tracking to support this application.
Photographs highlighting interdisciplinary teamwork across architecture, earth science, education, engineering, and community engagement will also be displayed.
Other projects from MSU included in the exhibition involve Margaret Hammersla’s efforts to expand cancer care access through partnerships with Barrett Hospital and organizations like the American Society of Clinical Oncology; as well as Laura Larsson and Twilla Yellow Horse’s work improving tribal health care delivery through the Caring for Our Own Program.
Johnson expressed enthusiasm about sharing these initiatives internationally: “We’re taking all this knowledge, expertise and the highly collaborative nature that MSU encourages, and seeing how it can affect global change for the good,” she said. “It’s very fulfilling that what we’re doing here in Montana also can support children around the world. We’re proud of our students for being agile thinkers, proud of our faculty for being strong collaborators across disciplines and proud of the communities that welcome us to test new ideas to improve the health care environment.”
Johnson previously visited the Florence Nightingale Museum ten years ago and plans to attend its grand opening event for this exhibit.
Florence Nightingale was known as a pioneer who advanced modern nursing practices by advocating sanitation reforms during her lifetime (1820–1910), including handwashing measures during wartime that led to lower mortality rates among soldiers.
“It feels like a kind of homecoming,” Johnson said. “This particular museum is where Florence trained, and for Montana State and our lab to be featured in the same place where she walked the halls is a great honor.”
Johnson also acknowledged Debbie Gregory from the Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design for supporting MSU’s nomination: “for her advocacy and support of MSU’s work and for the nomination to be featured in the exhibit.”
Dean Shannon added: “Our nurse scientists at MSU would make Florence Nightingale very proud of nurses’ impact on today’s health care environmental challenges.”
More information about the museum can be found at https://florence-nightingale.co.uk/.
