In-Depth Survey Highlights Hospital Building Trends
Trustee Magazine provides data on hospital construction trends abstracted from a report assembled by Health Facilities Management. The building boom that started five years ago keeps going on with new hospitals and clinics valued at $22 billion under construction as of late 2005. Trends are evolving with renovations taking an increasing place at roughly $6 billion in 2005. At the same time, the biggest projects, at $100 million and more, grew from 67 in 2003 to 100 last year.
Evidence-based design, while not overwhelmingly known let alone used among those surveyed by HFM/ASHE, is progressing with 48 percent of respondents using it to some extent. The Center for Health Design, a promoter of this holistic approach to hospital design, thinks there is momentum for building standards that both promote healing and provide a better workplace. Evidence-based design claims benefits such as a reduced number of patient falls, infections, and transfers; and less stress for patients, visitors and personnel. However, its requirement for bigger, individual rooms, in-room sinks, better lightning and lowered ambient noise often come at an increased cost which stands in the way of broader adoption.
Money is also a concern because of rising construction costs dictated by higher prices for energy and commodities including steel and wood. Recent hurricanes also raise the ante in terms of emergency operating needs with potentially costly additional requirements for space and equipment. Organizations are adapting by trying to get their projects on the market faster and by going through a more rigorous selection process to choose architects and builders.
The report was based on a survey conducted in cooperation with Hospitals & Health Networks and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, as well as data supplied by Reed Construction Data/RSMeans, and extensive interviews with leaders in the hospital planning, design and construction fields.
Related entry: Hospitals Increase Profits, Get Built Anew.
March 3, 2006 Related topics: Facilities, Trends