Health Facilities Management Magazine reports, POSTED MARCH 14, 2016:
With the opening of the new Lee Physician Group’s Outpatient Center at Surfside, residents and visitors in Cape Coral, Fla., now have easier access to convenient and comprehensive care.
The 27,400-square-foot outpatient facility is the first Lean-designed for Lee Memorial Health System, Fort Myers, Fla., explains Dave Cato, chief administrative officer, outpatient services.
A partnership among Lee Memorial, Opus Solutions, and designers Studio+ was key to creating a structural design that streamlines workflow and patient care. “This means that we designed the facility for optimal patient flow and efficiency, with input from staff,” Cato says.
The Lean design also substantially cut the time to design and build the outpatient center.
The design took 14 days to complete, with no rework, representing a 60 percent reduction in design cycle time, says Steve Friedland, managing partner of Opus Solutions. Plus, construction was completed in seven and a half months, cutting 38 percent from the traditional 12-month cycle.
“The process produced a facility that was built the right way the first time,” adds Friedland.
“It came in at budget, had zero change orders and cut months out of the design to go-live cycle time. Long term, the design will deliver measurable gains in operational productivity and return on invested capital.”
“By engaging front-line and clinical staff in the design process, utilizing both macro- and micro-detail, the client, architect and design consultant created a facility that reinvented the outpatient care delivery process,” he says.
Images courtesy of Studio+.