As the healthcare industry shifts from centralized to decentralized care, many hospital systems now adopt a hub-and-spoke model to bring outpatient care to communities by offering clinics in addition to acute care at a main hospital campus. Some clinics have adapted buildings of other typologies, such as retail. These new medical facilities revitalize retail cores while offering state-of-the-art care located near existing public transportation, highways, sidewalks, parking, and urban utilities.  While the adaptive reuse model has the potential to bring outpatient services to a convenient location for patients and families, the model has its own set of unique challenges and risks.

 

A prime example of this approach is Seattle Children’s South Sound Clinic, a 40,000 SF outpatient clinic adapted from a former Circuit City store that houses a range of services including urgent care, outpatient care, occupational and physical therapy, and other specialty departments.  During this presentation, audience members will hear from the client and architects, who will share details of how they worked successfully through planning, design development, and construction to produce a state-of-the-art healthcare facility located in a transit-oriented, suburban retail development.

 

The move to outpatient care is a direct result of the trend in designing to meet the patient’s needs.  As health systems look to expand their range of services, outpatient care has come to the forefront.  Increased technology advances allow for more procedures to be done in an outpatient setting than ever before, and patients prefer the convenience and the chance to avoid staying overnight in the hospital.  Hear how the push to improve and increase outpatient care is fueling increases in innovations in care methods.  The challenges that lie ahead will also be addressed, including lower rates of admission to acute care facilities, continuing need for follow-up care for outpatients, and the need for new payment models.

 

1.Discuss the trends revitalizing the nature of patient care.

2.Explain the process of adapting a big-box retail space into a modern healthcare clinic that provides maximum benefits for patients, staff and the community.

3.Describe the importance of using Lean strategies in the design phase to offer patient-centered care to a community.

4.Outline the challenges healthcare administrators face in providing outstanding care for each patient as the move to outpatient care grows.