The Strategy of Healing

One of the key trends identified in LS3P’s white paper “The Future of Healthcare in the Southeast” is the rise in chronic conditions (non-communicable diseases) that is driving the ambulatory shift. Locating medical office and ambulatory care buildings strategically in a “hub and spoke” pattern within the community to accommodate increasing volumes of patients, and to make services easily accessible, is critical to the success of the healthcare system and to the health of the community.  

As a recent case study, this Strategic System & Master Facilities Plan addresses the needs of a multi-campus healthcare system in the Southeast in the context of the current / near / far-term trends and projections. LS3P partnered with a leading strategic planning group to analyze the location, condition, capacity, performance, operational cost, and adaptability of 3,000,000 SF of facilities and the appropriateness of these spaces in meeting the evolving needs of the community.

 

We are seeing a vast increase in the use of medical office buildings and ambulatory surgery centers across the Southeast.
Since the completion of this master plan in 2022, LS3P has been tracking the metrics of evolving ambulatory building types and working with Kaufman Hall to track patient/consumer metrics. Tracking the planning metrics on ambulatory building types helps owners make strategic real estate decisions in navigating the ambulatory shift.  Adding data on patient access and patient satisfaction lets us integrate planning metrics with business metrics to inform strategic decision-making and facilities planning going forward.  As the ambulatory shift continues to transform how and what we build, we have a great opportunity – and a responsibility – to shape the future of ambulatory care environments, their effectiveness, and the consumer/patient relationship that encourages people to seek care and results in improved continuum of care and health outcomes.  

Ron Smith

Ron Smith, a Board Certified Healthcare Architect and past president of the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health, brings over 30 years of Healthcare planning and design experience in project types including hospitals, specialty clinics, cancer centers, academic medical centers, primary care clinics, federally qualified health centers, and long-term care facilities.

Ron’s design expertise includes facility assessment, master planning, program management, project management for design and construction, functional and space programming, and Lean process design workshops. Ron is a leader in interdisciplinary design and collaborative stakeholder engagement.