Healthcare Master Planning: A Roadmap for the Future
Healthcare facilities are long-term, critical buildings that function as healing and economic centers of a community. To keep them sustainable for decades amongst a rapidly changing industry, master planning is a crucial step that lays a foundation for growth, efficient systems, and smart decision-making.
“Master plans are roadmaps for priority planning and capital allocation,” says Josh Stewart, TMP healthcare principal. “They help organizations plan for expansions without accidentally backing themselves into a corner.”
TMP has partnered with major healthcare organizations across the country like Ardent Health, CHS, HCA, Piedmont Healthcare, and Sentara Health to develop visions for the future of their facilities.
Finding Key Focus Areas
In every one of these engagements, the first step to a successful master plan is listening.
“We start with asking questions that point us in the right direction,” Stewart says. These include things like: What goals does the system want to achieve in the next five years? Do they want to expand or introduce new service lines? Are they looking to connect sites of care between inpatient and outpatient settings?
The answers allow TMP to shape a key focus list and determine high priorities for the client. Demographic and industry data is then incorporated to support the client’s goals, steering decisions in a way that makes sense not only for the hospital, but the community as well. Information like how the region is growing, what community medical needs are becoming more prominent or declining, and the demographics of hospital patients are factored in.
This data leads to a clear framework that shows C-suite and other stakeholders where the organization is headed. An easy-to-understand plan helps gain buy-in and marries the organization’s goals with the realities of the industry. Once the high-level plan is created, individual projects start to take shape.
“It’s also really important to work with engineers and other industry partners as we’re creating the master plan,” Stewart says. “Engineering infrastructure evaluation is critical to support master plan projects, improve operational efficiencies, and better forecast project budgets. They help us understand current and future issues that could arise around the age of facilities, for example.”
Plan for Change
As the master plan is formed, it’s important to keep in mind that, most likely, it will change.
“Healthcare is always evolving,” Stewart says. “Facility master plans need to be flexible so organizations are better positioned to react and maintain success.”
Despite the challenges of a moving target, having a master plan sets healthcare organizations up for future success, identifying smart growth opportunities. With more than three decades of experience in healthcare design, TMP is an expert in master planning — helping clients create sound, flexible visions for the future.
See more of our healthcare work here.