Healthcare in Reform… Managing Risks

“We believe facilities exist to support your business, which is why business operations and ROI must be built into your project long before you break ground. From initial planning through the life of your building, a Project Manager expertly stands by your side to help deliver long-term business success from your facility investment.”

Making confident decisions in today’s healthcare climate is difficult. Changes to reimbursement and evolving care models create a lack of certainty about facility investments. What assurance do you have that an investment today will meet the needs of tomorrow? An unquestionable fact is that aging facilities and the need for improved operational efficiencies are driving institutions to launch and execute major facilities initiatives, even in the face of change.

For large-scale projects the risks inherent in all projects are magnified by:

1. Scale – Minor problems multiply into big costs.

2. Complexity – Small issues add-up to real time.

3. Duration – Market conditions change over time.

By far, the greatest risk to any project is the ability of the owner to make timely and actionable decisions. In this environment – how can you move forward with confidence?

A Flexible Alternative

Typically, the project development approach is a linear process that is driven by:

1. A space program that is already aging

2. A design team that needs all of the answers today

3. A demand for the early, total commitment of project capital

All of these “requirements” are at odds with the institutional need for flexibility to react to a changing environment. Is there an alternative approach?

BDR is successfully delivering large-scale healthcare projects today by adopting a more flexible approach to the traditional delivery process. The goal is to preserve flexibility, enabling projects to adapt to change over the course of the development cycle and beyond. The following five keys are utilized in this flexible approach include:

1. Make only the necessary, timely decisions to support progress

2. Commit capital incrementally, as needed for each step

3. Build-out only what you need today, to be prepared for tomorrow

4. Re-evaluate at every milestone, make tactical corrections

5. Maximize value, by challenging convention

Design and construction resources with the guidance of experienced project leadership on the Owners team can adopt this more flexible delivery approach – an owner-centric approach that prioritizes the Owners interests while minimizing risk.