February has been looming in my mind as I’m expecting to welcome a baby into this world sometime mid-month. Anticipating this new little person, for quite some time now I’ve been a frequent flier at medical offices as many friendly and competent healthcare professionals have done their best to ensure my pregnancy ends with a healthy mother and baby.

In one recent visit, while I waited a few moments for the doctor, I happened to look at the floor. In this particular exam room, the floor was linoleum, and instead of meeting the wall in a flat configuration, the linoleum wrapped up the bottom of the wall for 3 or 4 inches, rounded at the bottom and trimmed and sealed in the corners. The effect is essentially a tub at the bottom of the exam room, which I immediately envied. Liquids don’t have any cracks to seep into, and dirt and debris are easily swept or mopped with no sharp corners or molding to hide in.

It is a smart design that meets the room’s purpose beautifully. I might remodel my own bathroom someday to follow suit—I’ve heard children can occasionally create messes.

I’m sure there are hundreds of other design choices made for the room that I didn’t notice that serve both medical professionals and patients. I may not have seen them, but an engineer, architect, or interior designer considered them in depth as the medical facility was designed, constructed, and finished.

And of course that planning extends far beyond that room to the road I drove on and the car I traveled in, for example. If I imagine removing all of the engineering and architectural insight that influenced just that one trip, here’s the scenario I’m left with: walking from a cave to meet a person, perhaps just lounging in the snow, who would have nodded their head and said, “Yup, you look pregnant. Might come soon!” I very much prefer the modern experience of designed transportation, infrastructure, and equipment.

By mid-month I’ll be out on maternity leave, turning over this publication to the capable hands of Editor Scott Rhode and the rest of the Alaska Business editorial team. I’m excited to see what they pull together in the next few issues, and if their work is as exceptional as I expect it to be, consider taking a moment to let them know.