Hospital Construction Company, Simone Health, Explains How Healthcare Facilities are Putting an Emphasis on Designing for Flexibility

BRONX, N.Y., Nov. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexibility, the ability to adapt and grow to patient needs, is a major concern when designing any kind of medical facility. Healthcare facilities need to be equipped with the right tools and layout to adjust to evolving patient and industry needs as time passes and demands change. Planning and designing for flexibility in advance can be a daunting task, as facilities can almost never predict what patient demands will be in the long term. There are, however, a few considerations your medical facility can utilize to better meet those challenges. Hospital construction company, Simone Health, explains how healthcare facilities are putting an emphasis on designing for flexibility.  

Versatile Spaces: Versatility is one of the most essential features inside a flexible healthcare space. As patients' needs transform quickly, so are facility demands, calling for a high level of versatility when designing spaces that still consider safety. Incorporating rolling furniture, standard medical toolsets in all spaces, and interchangeable rooms all contribute to a facility's versatility. With high levels of versatility, small exam rooms can quickly be adjusted into intensive care spaces and vice versa, as patient flow and demand requires.

Ability to Modify: The ability to modify a space following its construction is another key part of a flexible healthcare space. You want to leave room for growth and modification in your medical facility, so it's an important consideration during the design phase. You can incorporate this by making sure mechanical and electrical features are built into exterior walls, allowing interior walls to be sources of potential remodeling in the future without higher costs. Future modifications to a space don't have to be huge either; it can be as simple as having the right plugs or cables for certain equipment that may not be there yet, but could be in the future.

Scalability: Ensuring that your medical facility is scalable is another essential piece of being flexible. Building your medical facility to accommodate future growth will allow your patient pool to grow later on. This can be building smaller, individual care centers in a variety of neighborhoods, or it can be building rooms next to spaces with high growth potential as storage closets or offices, both of which can be easily moved and remodeled for new exam or procedure rooms. Both of these options provide high scalability, leading to more flexibility in care.

Capability to Convert: Similar to the first point, keeping the capability to convert healthcare spaces in mind is another way to provide your medical facility with flexibility. The capability to convert is not only limited to versatile spaces, however; it can also be considered when designing parking needs, leasing building space, and incorporating new technological developments. It's the ability to convert an older AV system to a newer one quickly, to convert your wellness center to adapt to patient demands, and to transform your parking spaces as parking demand changes.

Flexibility is a key feature of any successful healthcare facility. Taking the above points into consideration will ensure your medical facility design incorporates predicted patient demand in the future, while allowing the center space to further develop and grow.

About Simone Health Development Companies:
Simone Health Hospital Development Companies are a full-service real estate investment company specializing in the acquisition and development of office, retail, industrial and healthcare properties in the New York tristate area. Headquartered in the Bronx, NY, the privately held company owns and manages more than 5 million square feet of property in the Bronx, Westchester County, Queens, Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey. The company's portfolio includes more than 100 properties and ranges from multi-building office parks to retail and industrial space. The largest and most successful development from Simone Health is the 42-acre Hutchinson Metro Center office complex located directly off the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. The first two phases of the complex, which comprise nearly 750,000 square feet of Class A office and medical space, are fully leased. Two additional phases totaling 650,000 square feet (370,000-square-foot Metro Center Atrium and 280,000-square-foot Tower Two), are completed and fully leased. Visit www.simdev.com.

SOURCE Simone Health