An agreement has been reached in what is believed to be the first design- or construction-related lawsuit involving building information modeling (BIM). Generally prior related case law helps guide later decisions in similar lawsuits. However, BIM is a new frontier for construction law. For this reason, many people in and tangentially related to construction are paying attention… [Read more…]
May 27, 2011
This week I heard from a CEO that a medical office building (MOB) his hospital system was planning came in so under-budget compared to their strategic plan, they decided to buy two: one for their main campus and a duplicate for a satellite location. Good for him: leverage the power of money to its fullest in an underwhelming… [Read more…]
May 25, 2011
I read an industry roundtable summary from the International Interior Design Assocation (IIDA). It described how those seeking information from the design industry are overwhelmed toward paralysis with information, and are unsure how to proceed in many cases. I feel this encapsulates the parallel condition many hospital owners find themselves. The golden rule: ‘Just get me… [Read more…]
May 23, 2011
Had I known Architect magazine had a one-page piece on universal design in its May 2011 issue, I would have referenced it in my recent blog posting on the same subject. What I found interesting in this article is the similar acknowledgement that universal design will only grow in importance in the near future. The… [Read more…]
May 20, 2011
Recently I spoke with a friend who works for a national group purchasing organization (GPO). He was picking my brain on new procurement opportunities his GPO could offer his member hospitals. As our talk evolved toward building maintenance and management, he asked if I was familiar with a particular software for hospital owners to manage their… [Read more…]
May 18, 2011
Designers and building owners often stick their heads in the sand when new regulations are discussed. Many are in denial that sustainability is law in several localities, and some still grit their teeth when having to comply with the American with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADA / ADAAG). In some respect this is natural with… [Read more…]
May 16, 2011
Right now hospitals are looking for any way to reduce expenses. Why not look in the trash? In my career, I have had several projects with a waste management component and two healthcare projects focused solely on hospital trash. No, I cannot claim to love trash the way Oscar the Grouch does. Yet those projects… [Read more…]
May 13, 2011
As federal budget debates continue, the four largest components of our federal deficit spending—Social Security (23%), Medicare / Medicaid (20%), defense (20%), discretionary (19%)—will continue to receive a lot of attention. Healthcare, in fact, has been leading the dicussions in many cases, as the other three have been treated with kid gloves thus far. I… [Read more…]
May 11, 2011
Despite some inaccurate headlines about the recent Beryl Institute study on patient experience, which shows that although hospital leaders rank patient experience as one of several top priorities, quality / patient safety is number one. Patient experience is number two. The landmark patient experience survey of more than 790 hospital executives revealed quality/patient safety was leaders’ top priority, ahead of… [Read more…]
May 9, 2011
The majority of hospital interior color schemes are a lost opportunity, to put it kindly. I think so many hospitals gravitate toward really washed out and soulless colors like mauves, sea foams and beiges because they think muted equals calming and light colors equal larger spaces. On some level, maybe that can be supported, but in general well-coordinated,… [Read more…]
May 30, 2011
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