It was not long ago I wrote about design-build as a way to control costs. This idea was espoused by Barry LePatner in his book Broken Buildings Busted Budgets. Well last month at the Healthcare Design Conference (HCD.10) the thesis for a lab design forum was just that: ‘design build was chosen for cost containment’.… [Read more…]
December 27, 2010
Buildings December 2010 issue noted a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report which demonstrates how hospitals can achieve 50% energy savings in large hospitals. The DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) demonstrated how 50-60% savings could be achieved. Once again, do not feel intimidated; it does not take high technology and big dollars to do this (many… [Read more…]
December 23, 2010
Whether formal federal healthcare legislation or the evolution of a far more competitive economic environment, hospitals will need to change their businesses to survive. Even hospitals currently healthy enough to continue business-as-usual will reexamine the status quo to react to competitors who have retooled and, in the process, become more formidable competition. Hospitals will need… [Read more…]
December 22, 2010
In the past I mentioned some IT themes to prepare for on the design and business side of healthcare. Becker’s covers some myths behind Electronic Health Records (EHR) in this poignant post—especially good for administrators who have health records as their New Year’s resolution.
December 17, 2010
David Chambers, Strategic Facility Planner for Sutter Health, presented an excellent lean design seminar at the Healthcare Design Conference (HDC.10) last month. Lean has finally become an in topic; in other words, it is a mainstream discussion item as evidenced by the standing room only crowd. The popularity of this particular talk was a testiment to the quality… [Read more…]
December 15, 2010
Owners hire project managers for peace of mind. Owners hire a safety net: another person to track issues, advocate for their interests, and look ahead to head off problems before they start costing money. Owners want someone who has not only done a project before, but someone who does it for a living. Project managers… [Read more…]
December 14, 2010
A few months ago I blogged, skeptically initially, about employee wellness programs. I ultimately concluded these programs were beneficial because the program I participate in, Virgin Health Miles, does alter my behavior in a proactive, beneficial way. Becker’s has a handy article on how to start up a successful employee wellness program at your hospital.
December 13, 2010
Click here to read my most recent blog post for Healthcare Building Ideas.
December 7, 2010
Economics, energy and the environment (E3) was the topic for an investigation into how the economics of energy will change the healthcare environment. Results were presented in a seminar at the Healthcare Design Conference 2010 last month. The baseline data for this investigation is a survey that proved healthcare administrators have a distorted and underestimated sense… [Read more…]
December 3, 2010
Becker’s Hospital Review published a nice article on business advice for hospitals in 2011. Of the nine suggestions for next year, the themes appear to be collaboration and adaptability. More than half of the nine suggestions involve integration and organization teamwork, or adopting strategies for reacting to an uncertain future. Along with reducing costs, these are the… [Read more…]
December 30, 2010
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