This morning marks roughly 48 hours since my family and I emerged from our temporary home not knowing what we’d find in the wake of Hurricane Irma. After a circuitous route home, we pulled into our driveway with the same uncertainty. We’re among those fortunate enough to have minimal damage and are fully functional with power and water. Millions of our fellow Floridians were not as fortunate and are still waiting for power and water. Pictures from the Caribbean and the Florida Keys are heartbreaking to look at and I find myself pondering if I would have the strength to endure what thousands are presently enduring. My family is truly fortunate and grateful.
Planning for Disaster
As the storm approached Florida, two of our clients battened down the hatches in relatively new hospitals, designed specifically to withstand significant weather events like Hurricane Irma. During a situation like this there are three things I know to be true: Mother Nature can be quite unpredictable, no facility is infallible and no plan is foolproof. Despite this, patients and families in our clients’ facilities could take comfort in knowing these buildings were designed with severe weather in mind. The leadership of these organizations had a specific vision to commission the design and construction of these facilities to withstand these weather events and then backed that vision up with the funding to make it happen. A few significant design outcomes of this vision were:
- Generators that keep air conditioning functioning when the power goes out
- Glass designed to withstand significant impact from airborne debris
- Wells to bring water from the ground to replace city water
These are features we all hope are never needed but require significant investment and commitment from the organizations’ leadership. Are these additions truly worth the cost when there are so many other issues competing for capital dollars? If you ask this same question to the families, patients and staff who faced Irma in those buildings, you would get a resounding “yes.” This week, the vision those leaders had a decade ago, came to fruition.
Setting Priorities
Not all hospitals have, (or should have), the same vision that these organizations did, but a significant step in planning a major capital project is knowing what you want to get from your facilities and what you feel is most important. Owners have the ability to set the tone and direction, and they have the most impact on new projects at the beginning of the project life cycle. The ability to clearly communicate specific priorities to your team is among the most important tasks the owner’s leadership team will perform. In essence, if you don’t know what you want out of your new facility, then how will you know if you’ve achived it once completed?
Take the time to reflect and put in writing the vision for your new project. Know that each organization has its own needs and priorities; yours are specific to your patients, staff and community. Common features to consider include:
- Resiliency
- Family accommodations
- Flexibility of space
- Ease of expansion
Organizations should take time to consider the entire spectrum of possibilities and narrow down a list that will most benefit your organization. Keep in mind this work does not end when the vision is written down; it will resurface as cost estimates come in and roadblocks need to be worked through. Having a clear organizational vision that everyone is on board with will be extremely helpful as you overcome obstacles and challenges.
Conclusion
Devastating events like Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have a way of clarifying complicated issues - How do you protect and save life? Knowing what you want to get from your facilities is an invaluable step towards successful capital planning. Healthcare leaders and those engaged in new facility projects should take time to ensure the project vision is clear and at the forefront of each team member’s mind. Once project priorities are developed and clearly communicated,the better your chance of team member engagement ultimately leading to a successfully completed project.
Related Stories
| Oct 30, 2014
CannonDesign releases guide for specifying flooring in healthcare settings
The new report, "Flooring Applications in Healthcare Settings," compares and contrasts different flooring types in the context of parameters such as health and safety impact, design and operational issues, environmental considerations, economics, and product options.
| Oct 30, 2014
Perkins Eastman and Lee, Burkhart, Liu to merge practices
The merger will significantly build upon the established practices—particularly healthcare—of both firms and diversify their combined expertise, particularly on the West Coast.
| Oct 21, 2014
Passive House concept gains momentum in apartment design
Passive House, an ultra-efficient building standard that originated in Germany, has been used for single-family homes since its inception in 1990. Only recently has the concept made its way into the U.S. commercial buildings market.
| Oct 21, 2014
Hartford Hospital plans $150 million expansion for Bone and Joint Institute
The bright-white structures will feature a curvilinear form, mimicking bones and ligament.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 13, 2014
Debunking the 5 myths of health data and sustainable design
The path to more extensive use of health data in green building is blocked by certain myths that have to be debunked before such data can be successfully incorporated into the project delivery process.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 8, 2014
Massive ‘healthcare village’ in Nevada touted as world’s largest healthcare project
The $1.2 billion Union Village project is expected to create 12,000 permanent jobs when completed by 2024.
| Oct 3, 2014
Designing for women's health: Helping patients survive and thrive
In their quest for total wellness, women today are more savvy healthcare consumers than ever before. They expect personalized, top-notch clinical care with seamless coordination at a reasonable cost, and in a convenient location. Is that too much to ask?
