Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 24

deeply, as a shortfall of skilled trade professionals is exacerbated by rising materials costs and
shrinking project schedules. "With a backlog of
projects across the industry, we'll continue to
address challenges specific to workforce shortages, material sourcing, and product-to-market
pressures as we meet the need for new and renovated healthcare facilities," says Robin Savage,
president and chief operating officer of Robins &
Morton (Birmingham, Ala.), who added that the
company will increase its emphasis on recruitment and retention, including expanding mentorship programs.
Looking ahead, Andrew Quirk, chief operating officer, healthcare, at Suffolk Construction
(Boston), says he anticipates that healthcare's
current growth pattern will continue over the
next three to five years but "at a more sustainable pace." He also anticipates project scales and
budgets to be distributed across project types
from additions and renovations to specialty centers to infrastructure upgrades-however, he
further adds that this reality will be influenced
by client financing issues and stressed project
schedules. "Challenges we see include proper
alignment of project needs (programs) to available budgets, ability to provide creative alternate solutions, having the time to create or en-

Greatest challenge firms
faced in 2019

Talent acquisition

39%
Pressure to lower fees

24%
Shorter construction schedules

10%
More competition

8%
Achieving owner/client buy-in
and managing volume/scope of
end user input

sure clients are seeing the best value available to
them, and the continued need to procure earlier
A/E/C services so that more return on investment can be realized," he says.
In addition to all of these factors contributing to what's at times a chaotic business environment, Wayne Barger, vice president, health
practice director at SmithGroup (Dallas), says
additional challenges he anticipates are tied to
dramatic population and generational shifts, rapidly advancing technologies, massive amounts of
data, new outside industry competitors, and staff
burnout and engagement. "Our biggest opportunity may lie in the continuing trend to improve
the patient experience, now extending to the staff
experience," he says.
In fact, Barger anticipates growing emphasis on
that human experience to shape healthcare's future and drive design solutions-for both patients
and staff-with design concepts from workplace,
retail, and mixed-use sectors guiding where we go
next. "The coming decade is going to be disruptive, but it will, we hope, be largely positive disruption. It's an interesting, and exciting, time to
be a designer," he says. 
Jennifer Kovacs Silvis is editor-in-chief of Healthcare Design. She can be reached at J E N N I F E R .
S I LV I S @ E M E R A L D X . C O M .

5%
Increase in projects

Projects completed by type: 2017 vs. 2019

5%
Diversifying across healthcare
building types

Projects completed by size range: 2017 vs. 2019

74%

2017

2019

53%
42%

41%

2019

2017

2019

34%

Entering senior living/long-term
care/residential market

3%
Marketing/branding

37%
23%

20%
7%

20,000 -
49,999 sq. ft.

50,000 -
99,999 sq. ft.

5%
100,000 -
499,999 sq. ft.

500,000 -
1M sq. ft.

APRIL 2020

Outpatient/
Ambulatory

Skilled nursing/
Rehab

0% 1%
More than
1M sq. ft.

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

Infrastructure
only

Projects completed by type, 2017 vs. 2019

Projects completed by size range, 2017 vs. 2019

6%
Hospital

13%

12%

5,000 -
19,999 sq. ft.

13%

http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM

Healthcare Design - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - April 2020