Making Veterans Administration healthcare projects “better planned, better delivered” is the new goal of the VA’s Office of Construction and Facilities Management, according to Executive Director Stella S. Fiotes, AIA.
CFM plans, designs, and constructs (with the help of private-sector AEC consultants, of course) all VA projects greater than $10 million in value. The office has responsibility for design construction standards, sustainability, seismic corrections, historic preservation, and physical security.
The VA has a massive portfolio—151 hospitals, 827 community-based outpatient clinics, and 300 veterans’ centers, Fiotes told attendees at the recent American College of Healthcare Architects/AIA Academy of Architecture for Health (ACHA/AAH) Summer Leadership Summit in Chicago. Nearly two-thirds of its facilities are more than 60 years old, and 30% have a historic designation or could qualify for one.Fiotes said the VA is in the midst of a major policy shift, from “figuring out what’s broken and fixing it as much as possible”—a strictly brick-and-mortar approach—to “figuring out what services veterans need and adapting service-delivery models, facilities, and funding distribution to better meet those needs.”
The new policy, known as VA Facilities Management Integrated Planning, is directed at addressing such concerns as the need to right-size facilities based not only on where veterans are today, but where they’ll be in the future, given that many older veterans are expected to move to the warmer regions of the U.S.
Fiotes said the VA is also looking to forge affiliations with public agencies, universities, and healthcare organizations as a way to stretch its capital investment budget. Serving the healthcare needs of veterans in rural areas remains a persistent concern, she said, as does the need for the VA to promote wellness and disease prevention for its clients.
Another major initiative: the Patient-Aligned Care Team. “Primary care is the foundation of VA healthcare delivery,” said Fiotes. PACT is designed to provide “one-stop” patient-centered care through coordinated “teamlets” consisting of a physician, a nurse, an LPN or technician, and a clerk, along with a clinical pharmacist, a dietitian, and a social worker. “No clinics have been designed based on this model, but we’re working on it,” said Fiotes. “We believe they can save 15-20% on costs.”
As for sustainability, Fiotes said all VA projects must earn at least LEED Silver or two Green Globes; every project is evaluated for the feasibility of using renewable energy. Structural resilience, particularly against the threat of rising sea levels or a tsunami, has become a priority as well.
Eight major VA projects—in Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, San Diego, Cape Coral, Fla., and two in Biloxi, Miss.—will undergo post-occupancy evaluation this fiscal year to determine how well the buildings are meeting the needs of veterans and healthcare providers. Starting in FY 2014, all major projects will experience POEs within 18-24 months of occupancy.
Two innovation programs—selected from over 450 suggestions from Veterans Health Administration employees—are under way: the development of standardized designs for outpatient clinics, and research on making wayfinding in VA facilities consistent across the board.
Fiotes ended her talk to ACHA/AAH attendees on a tempting note: “We have over $6 billion in projects that have been identified and need to be acted on.”
Read our full report from the ACHA/AAH Summit.
Related Stories
| Oct 4, 2013
Sydney to get world's tallest 'living' façade
The One Central Park Tower development consists of two, 380-foot-tall towers covered in a series of living walls and vertical gardens that will extend the full height of the buildings.
| Oct 4, 2013
Nifty video shows planned development of La Sagrada Familia basilica
After 144 years, construction on Gaudi's iconic Barcelona edifice is picking up speed, with a projected end date of 2026.
| Oct 4, 2013
Mack Urban, AECOM acquire six acres for development in LA's South Park district
Mack Urban and AECOM Capital, the investment fund of AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM), have acquired six acres of land in downtown Los Angeles’ South Park district located in the central business district (CBD).
| Oct 4, 2013
CRB opens Atlanta office
Georgia’s status as a burgeoning hub for the life sciences industry has fueled CRB’s decision to open an office in Atlanta to better serve its clients in the market. CRB is a leading provider of engineering, design and construction services for customers in the biotech, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries.
| Sep 27, 2013
NYC releases first year-to-year energy performance data on commercial properties
A new report provides information on energy performance of New York City's largest buildings (mostly commercial, multi-family residential). It provides an analysis of 2011 data from city-required energy “benchmarking”—or the tracking and comparison of energy performance—in more than 24,000 buildings that are over 50,000 square feet.
| Sep 27, 2013
ASHRAE/IES publish first standard focused on commissioning process
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 202, Commissioning Process for Buildings and Systems, identifies the minimum acceptable commissioning process for buildings and systems as described in ASHRAE’s Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process. Standard 202 is ASHRAE’s first standard focused on the commissioning process.
| Sep 26, 2013
6 ways to maximize home-field advantage in sports venue design
Home-field advantage can play a significant role in game outcomes. Here are ways AEC firms can help create the conditions that draw big crowds, energize the home team to perform better, and disrupt visiting players.
| Sep 26, 2013
Literature review affirms benefits of daylighting, architectural glazing
The use of glass as a building material positively impacts learning, healing, productivity and well-being, according to a white paper published by Guardian Industries and the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The findings highlight the significant influence daylighting and outside views have on employees, workers, students, consumers and patients.
| Sep 26, 2013
Mobilizing your job site to achieve a paperless project: fact or fiction?
True mobility in the field has rapidly evolved from lock-box kiosks on each floor to laptops on rolling carts to tablets and iPads loaded with drawings sets stored in the cloud. And WiFi-ready job sites have gone from “nice to have” to “must have” status in just a little over a year.
| Sep 26, 2013
Leading in the face of change
As AEC firms navigate toward an uncertain future, the most effective leaders are those who eagerly adapt to change. Here are three attitudes that drive leaders who are of most value to their firms.
