“Healthcare leaders are very focused on the accounting side and patient care, and have not realized that healthcare facilities are part of the solution,” says R. Wayne Estopinal, President, TEG Architects. “Hospital CEOs would serve their health systems well if they ensured that facility decisions were guided by a master plan and thus consistent with the C-suite strategic plan. Far too often those decisions and directives are left to building services, maintenance or engineering, but they have very far reaching strategic and ROI consequences on the organization,” he adds.

TEG Architects is a solution provider at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2017, in Orlando, Florida, May 15-17.

In healthcare, what does intelligent growth through strategic master planning mean?

The idea that we are in a very competitive environment should not be missed regarding facilities. Healthcare executives have worked incredibly hard to build in efficiencies and productivity in their operations, but the design of facilities is frequently missed. Many health systems are investing in facilities, but it should be done very strategically to gain maximal efficiency and productivity of not just the facilities but also the staff who will be using them. Facilities will play an even bigger role in the next step of building in efficiencies, price awareness, productivity and offsetting competition. They will play a huge role in delivering care as economically as possible.

Why don’t most healthcare leaders focus on this?

They concentrate on the accounting side and patient care. The facility is not the first idea that comes to mind when they start looking at ways to be more competitive, attract a diverse market and attract physicians. The new breed of medical graduates are looking at quality of life and they want a health system that will allow them to be highly efficient and productive, with access to patients and diagnostics.

What are the key attributes of master planning?

The primary benefit of doing a facility master plan is that you will be able to help model the clinical delivery process in an orderly fashion. Many hospitals across the US have been expanded time and time again without the consciousness of what was being done to the clinical delivery flow or understanding patient and staff flows. A master plan would allow the health system to look 5-15 years down the road and understand where major additions and renovations would possibly occur. A thorough master plan is not expensive when you compare it against costly mistakes. Putting in a fibre optic line or a new electrical service in the wrong location might cost hundreds of thousands to relocate. If they have a plan that maintains clinical integrity and gives engineering folks an understanding of future expansions, they will locate the data cable outside that footprint and avoid unnecessary relocation costs. A master plan stops existing and new facilities from wasting money.

How does a better facility design impact a hospital’s bottom line?

 Facility expansions are true investments, so we expect a return on those funds. It is important to track the major departments, such as surgery, emergency and imaging, and compare the financials before and after each project. We look at net revenues, staffing costs, the modalities they provide, to understand what the ROI is. Using the community-based healthcare metrics we can tell a client what revenue increase to expect.

• Chief Operating Officer, Advocate Christ Medical Center
• Regional President, Avera McKennan Hospital
• Chief Experience Officer, Barnes-Jewish Hospital
• Chief Executive Officer, College Medical Center
• Chief Executive Officer, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• President, Manta Health
• President and Chief Executive Officer, MemorialCare Health System
• President, Mount Sinai Health Network
• Executive COO – System CNO, University of Missouri Healthcare

     and more…

• Mary Toni Flowers, Vice President and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Roper St. Francis
• Dr Marty Makary, New York Times Bestselling Author of “Unaccounable”, Professor of Surgery and Health Policy, Johns Hopkins University; and Contributor, The Wall Street Journal & NBC’s TODAY Show
• David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Founding Dean, Jefferson College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University
• Paul Rothman, MD, Dean of the Medical Faculty and Chief Executive Officer, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Imran Andrabi, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Health – Toledo
• David S. Guzick, MD, PhD, President, UF Health and Senior Vice President, Health Affairs, University of Florida

      and more...

About TEG Architects

TEG is an internationally-recognized planning, architectural, engineering and interior design firm with projects throughout North America. Our projects range in size from critical access hospital projects, to 200-bed replacement facilities, as well as teaching hospital planning, life science center planning and strategic alignment of facilities, with nearly every project type in between. LEED Accredited Professionals, clinician consultants and architects, doing Evidence Based Design, who ARE those same architects and planners working on our clients’ projects.

www.teg123.com

About the National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2017

The 16th National Healthcare CXO Summit is the premium forum bringing senior level healthcare executives and solution providers together. The Summit offers an intimate environment for a focused discussion of key new drivers shaping the healthcare industry. Taking place at the JW Marriott, Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida, May 15-17, 2017, the Summit includes presentations on healthcare reform and the ACA, managing population health, ACO development and clinical integration, and achieving operational excellence.