Rebound for HC Design & Construction Industry?
Well, here’s some good news. Modern Healthcare’s 2009 Construction & Design survey indicates that things are coming back, but probably won’t hit full stride until late 2010.
Buoyed by spending by the U.S. federal government on VA and Department of Defense hospitals, the survey reported 3,086 projects costing just a little over $66 billion were designed in 2009. Another 1,864 projects costing $38.7 billion broke ground and 2,944 with a price tag of $33 billion were completed.
While some healthcare architecture firms, such as top ranked HDR, had record breaking years, many felt the competition from firms not traditionally involved in healthcare. This is not surprising, but given the specialty nature of healthcare design, the buyer better beware.
Other interesting things in the MHC report are some building trends cited, such as focus on flexibility, smooth workflow, green construction, and evidence-based design (described somewhat accurately as something that “aims to create a healing environment while promoting patient and staff safety”). A two-year $55 billion government stimulus plan in Canada also helped some of the larger healthcare architecture firms grow their business.
If you are a subscriber to MHC, you can read the report in the March 15th issue. PDFs of the report and charts can be purchased at the Surveys, Lists, and Data section of its website. Or, reprints of the published report can be ordered by calling 800-290-5460, etx. 125 or sending an email to modernhealthcare@reprintbuyer.com.