Sheila Semrou is a passionate, credentialed interior design professional with extensive background in healthcare, medical, senior living, residential, retail and shelter.  She's a practical, sensible planner/designer who provides solutions based on project goals, program requirements, client requests, budget and best practices.  Always motivated to create safe, functional, durable interior environments - which also inspire, nurture, and heal humans!  Sheila's successful planning and design work spans decades and has won awards.  Her projects include hospital, medical, hospitality, retail, residential, senior living and shelter. 

Sheila's professional work began at Universal Medical Buildings, a Milwaukee design-build firm that constructed new medical office buildings across the U.S.  Most were adjacent to an acute care hospital.  Each tenant improvement project included detailed space planning for various medical specialties and the needed equipment, furniture, power, lighting, plumbing, interior finish selections, specifications, and MEP coordination.  Continuing on in her career, Sheila next began working on acute care hospital renovations in Wisconsin, followed by senior living community projects across the U.S.  

Additionally, Sheila has learned significant lessons from life experiences.  Her mother was an acute care hospital patient for 7 continuous months, surviving 2 brain aneurysms, a serious hospital acquired infection, a stroke and more.  Eventually, moving to a skilled care facility, Sheila's incredibly strong mother continued to improve for 17 years!  Sheila's father visited every day and Sheila quite often.  Years later, Sheila's father moved into the same senior community after his recovery from quadruple bypass heart surgery at a local hospital.  There, he spent many days in the same Medical/Cardiac ICU which Sheila had renovated.  Now, together again, her parents lived, loved, and passed 3 months apart in 2006.  In 2023, Sheila tried to help her only remaining family member.   Her younger brother had been diagnosed with serious mental illness in his 20's, hospitalized twice, lived in a group home briefly, and then became homeless and lived on the streets.  Her brother's Anosognosia, a condition common to many with serious mental illness - caused him to refuse treatment.  He then went missing for many years.  He had lived on the streets and eventually in a dilapidated rooming house.  He was 57 and in crisis.  After Sheila repeatedly contacted authorities for an urgent mental health intervention, the system failed her brother.  He was eventually discovered deceased, in his room.  The medical examiner determined death occurred "many days to weeks earlier", from unknown causes.  The final autopsy showed no signs of drugs, alcohol or broken bones.  Any significant bruising that may have existed could not be determined due to advanced decomposition.  So many questions still remain.  It was a horrific set of circumstances. 

Professionally, these personal experiences have given Sheila significant empathy and understanding.  The knowledge influences her work, and Sheila dedicates her career to improving interior environments.  Sheila finds personal healing through her original art, photography, and volunteer activities for Wisconsin Humane Society.

Credentials:
AAHID - American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers - Board Certified, 2006
NCIDQ - National Council for Interior Design Qualification - Certificate # 13151, 1996
WRID - Wisconsin Registered Interior Designer - State of Wisconsin # 11-109, 1996

Professional Membership:

ASID - American Society of Interior Designers - Professional Member

Awards and Recognition

• 2010 ASID - Gold Design Award Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital - New Bed Tower Project
• 2001 IIDA - First Place Award Stoughton Hospital - Third Floor Addition: Medical / Surgical Unit, Intensive Care Unit, Pharmacy, Inpatient Rehab., and support spaces for staff, visitors, family.
• 2000 ASID - Award of Excellence Stoughton Hospital - Third Floor Addition: Medical / Surgical Unit, Intensive Care Unit, Pharmacy, Inpatient Rehab., and support spaces for staff, visitors, family.
• 1997 ASID - Honorable Mention St. Mary’s Hospital, Milwaukee - Second Floor Intensive Care Unit Renovation