Medical Construction & Design

MAY-JUN 2017

Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process.

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16 Medical Construction & Design | M AY/ J U N E 2017 | MCDM AG.COM When it comes to healthcare, much of the focus these days is on the fate of the healthcare law. Yet despite the uncertainty surrounding the legislation, hospital and health systems still have organizational objectives to meet and must remain focused on making eff ective, strategic decisions when it comes to their facilities. While providers can't ignore the pos- sible ramifi cations of healthcare reform on their building plans, there are other key industry trends that also are important considerations. Duke Realty's predictions of trends to watch this year are included in a compre- hensive new white paper available upon request. The paper was written by Keith Konkoli, the fi rm's executive vice president of healthcare, and Jared Stark, the fi rm's senior vice president of healthcare develop- ment. Highlights of the trends explored in the white paper and how they aff ect health- care real estate strategy are as follows: TREND 1 More health systems will develop micro-hospitals Last year, the healthcare real estate indus- try saw an increase in the development of micro-hospitals, and this trend is expected to proliferate in the coming years. Micro- hospitals are smaller than typical hospital campuses and, thus, easier to navigate, but usually off er the same type of healthcare services found in larger hospitals. Micro- hospitals also are usually more convenient and accessible because they are located in neighborhood settings and smaller com- munities where people live and work. TREND 2 Health systems will continue to develop rehab hospitals to avoid readmission penalties As things stand under the healthcare law, hospitals still face fi nancial penalties for above-average rates of readmissions for certain "preventable" conditions covered by Medicare. Because studies suggest that pa- tients who receive post-acute or home care are less likely to be readmitted to acute care hospitals, more providers have been con- sidering or off ering high-quality post-acute rehab services to reduce these penalties. Providers considering developing new rehab hospitals, especially those that have limited experience with this model, often fi nd it benefi cial to partner with an experienced rehab hospital operator. Ex- perienced operators can yield a number of benefi ts, including post-discharge patient care quality, speed to market, cost effi cien- cy and name recognition/ branding, mak- ing it worthwhile to pursue such arrange- ments even if the readmission penalties are reduced or eliminated as part of the re- peal or replacement of the healthcare law. TREND 3 More providers will implement expansions rather than new builds Expansions are expected to be more preva- lent than new ground-up developments this year. While building new or replacement facilities sometimes is the best option in a long-range development plan, expansions are an attractive alternative. They usually require less capital than new construction, and enable the system to bring new and expanded services to market more quickly. A medical facility expansion also makes a great deal of sense if the provider already has the "ideal" location where there is a strong demand for new healthcare services and the site is highly visible and acces- sible and near other in-demand services. TREND WATCH The 63,000-square-foot, 60-bed Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital near Springfi eld, Missouri. The proliferation of rehab hospitals is one of six trends indentifi ed by Keith Konkoli and Jared Stark of Duke Realty. Industry news, awards, etc. IN BRIEF A recently released white paper, "Comparison of Overhead Utility Systems for Intensive Care Rooms," provides insight into the most pressing questions for clinicians facing a decision about the delivery of utilities and gases in an ICU environment. For details, visit draeger.com. Entries are being sought for The Generative Space Award , which recognizes break-through designs that improve health and healthcare. Recent projects must demonstrate the integration of the physical and social environments to make the community A Place to Flourish ® . Deadline is June 15. Rules are available at aplacetofl ourish.net. Gerfl or USA recently released product-specifi c environmental product declarations for all of its product ranges. While most manufacturers continue to use industry EPDs, product-specifi c EPDs allow architects and designers to more quickly and effi ciently earn a LEED v4 credit in the Materials & Resources category. For details, visit gerfl orusa.com. The AABC Commissioning Group's CxA credential achieved accreditation by the American National Standards Institute, as well as becoming a recognized certifi cation by the Department of Energy's Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines program. Learn more at commissioning.org. White paper focuses on major areas of interest and their impact on patient care

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