September 2016 — Health Care Properties Quarterly —
Page 11
Construction
W
hy do we choose the health
care market for construc-
tion? There are many trends
in health care that provide
sources for new construc-
tion. New technologies, the retailiza-
tion of health care, the move from
the campus into the neighborhood,
and the development of urgent care,
stand-alone emergency departments
and ambulatory surgery centers are
just a few examples. Certainly the
consistency in health care construc-
tion spending creates financial viabil-
ity. However, the “why” also is about
the difference that each project makes
for a specific practice, organization or
community.
There are project drivers behind
the trends: How does the technology
change the patient experience? How
does the renovation change patient
flow? How does the building provide
an organizational and community
home? How does the building mate-
rial change the feeling? How does the
focus on environment change the
length of stay?
While new technological advance-
ments spur construction, they also
impact the patient experience. Imag-
ing is clearer, allowing more pro-
cedures to be done less invasively,
ultimately minimizing impacts to
patients. One of our projects near-
ing completion is the hybrid operat-
ing room at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s
Medical Center in Denver. One of the
components of the renovation was
the addition of a room for neonatal
surgery so that a mother having a
C-section can have surgery in the
OR while her newborn child can be
treated in the adjacent space within
the surgical theater.
In the process
of design and
construction, we
find new ways to
make the space
better for both the
staff and patients.
Recently, during a
box walk review of
the rough-ins for an
interventional radi-
ology project, the
doctors and nurses
walked through
the procedures and
determined the spatial constraints
of the room. In the process, it was
determined that the C-arm swing of
the X-ray would be in conflict with
required storage cabinet, resulting in
the shifting of the bed center. In addi-
tion, the light levels and locations
during procedures were reviewed and
minor adjustments were made. The
collaboration between the staff and
the design and construction teams
led to a better solution to work flow
and environmental conditions for the
staff.
Clinica Family Health is an organi-
zation that exemplifies why we work
in health care. We recently got to
know this organization better when it
announced the development of a new
facility to advance its ability to deliver
on its mission by expanding its reach
in the community and centralizing its
administration. Its mission is to pro-
vide health care to low-income and
other underserved people in its com-
munity. Clinica has a model of care
called the “patient centered medi-
cal home,” which facilitates access
to health care, engagement by the
patient, relationships and trust in the
delivery of care. From open schedul-
ing to the “pod” layout and team care
approach, the mission is about mak-
ing a difference for patients, breaking
down the barriers to health care and
providing a path to healthy living.
Over the course of my career, I have
had the opportunity to work with
Children’s Hospital Colorado.What
stands out through all of their proj-
ects, from the construction of the new
hospital at Fitzsimons Campus to
the wayfinding project at the original
Downing Street Campus, is the dif-
ference each project – large or small
– makes to the clinicians, nurses, doc-
tors, the community and to young
patients and their families. As an
example, I recall walking a project in
the NICU where the P-Tube station
needed to be relocated to a nurse sta-
tion.While reviewing the project and
discussing logistics, interim life-safety
and infection control measures, the
Flight for Life team entered the unit
wheeling in the tiniest of babies that
I had ever seen. Standing there, look-
ing at dust protection options at one
instant and then at an infant that we
would ultimately be protecting the
next, the reality of the moment struck
me. Everything we did, everything we
discussed, and all the strategy and
thought had real meaning and pur-
pose.
Having four of my own children, I
have had my share of visits to Chil-
dren’s Hospital. The broken bones
and the “barfies” all gave me time,
while sitting in the waiting rooms, to
reflect. It is times like these, when you
are focused on family, that what our
industry does in health care design
and construction makes its true
impact. I experienced first-hand how
stresses are eased by family centered
design, children are distracted from
their illness by playgrounds and spir-
its are lifted by use of natural light
and color.
The ever-changing landscape in
health care brings consistent work
through related construction projects.
The strength of the market breeds
competition. There is a financial stake
for contractors in the health care
market and we are all trying to find
our way. For me, it is more than the
market, the trend or the viability. It is
the “why.”Why health care? Because
every health care project makes a
difference.
s
Chad Cleveland
Project executive,
Catamount
Constructors Inc.,
Denver
In the process
of design and
construction, we
find new ways to
make the space
better for both the
staff and patients.
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