U.S. hospitals are in trouble, with an estimated shortage of up to 200,000 beds nationwide predicted by 2012. Profitability issues are to blame, according to a report by the Center for Health Design in Concord, CA.
U.S. hospitals are in trouble, with an estimated shortage of up to 200,000 beds nationwide predicted by 2012. Profitability issues are to blame, according to a report by the Center for Health Design in Concord, CA.
The report cited the five most dangerous trends facing hospitals:
The solution proposed to these problems is Fable Hospital, a composite of recently built or redesigned healthcare facilities that have implemented facets of evidence-based design, according to Jack Reichenthal, executive vice president of American Art Resources, which underwrote the study.
Fable Hospital is a virtual 300-bed regional medical center built to replace a 50-year-old 250-bed facility. It's a perfect hospital designed without cutting corners for cost savings, Reichenthal said.
Everything about the hospital design was scrutinized to provide optimum physical and mental health benefits, including ceiling height, transfer routes, and fine art selection and placement. The model went $22 million over budget, including $12 million for innovations such as a staff gym and noise reduction measures.
Evidence-based design resulted in savings in several areas:
The hospital increased revenue by $2.1 million by gaining a greater market share and added $1.5 million by increasing philanthropy. Conservative estimates have Fable Hospital realizing $11.4 million in the first year of operation and then recapturing the $11 million every year thereafter, Reichenthal said.
He added that the money saved and recouped is being recaptured from two dozen or so changes that most investors would cite as initially too expensive to even undertake.
"The competition is coming. Learn what processes to put in place that will leave you virtually untouchable," he said.
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