Jennifer Silvis

This was our fourth year reaching out to the healthcare design industry to see how business shaped up in the previous year and what the collective feeling is about where things stand in the present, via our 2013 Healthcare Design Corporate Rankings Survey.

In terms of the results, business in 2012 was largely the same as in 2011. Trends that emerged two years ago—like growth in both renovations over new construction and projects with smaller square footages than the megahospitals of past—continued.

“Uncertainty” defined the healthcare market in 2012. And yet expectations for clarity—thanks to both a U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act and a presidential election outcome that put to rest any lingering doubts—appear to have gone unfulfilled. According to responses to Healthcare Design’s 2013 Corporate Rankings Survey, industry professionals today remain just as uncertain as ever.

More than 90 architecture/engineering and construction firms working in healthcare took part in Healthcare Design's 2013 Corporate Rankings Survey, providing both business results in 2012 and insight on where the healthcare design industry stands today.

This post, originally published July 3, 2013, was among Heathcare Design's most popular articles and blogs of 2013. To see the full list, go to www.hcdmagazine.com/best-of-2013.

Today, a growing number of healthcare facilities are focusing on health and well-being rather than solely on sickness and disease, providing access to nature to promote patient healing and relief from stress.

When patients arrive late for appointments, frequently stop staff for directions, or flat-out complain about getting lost, you know a wayfinding program isn’t working. Too often something isn’t jibing in transitions between Parking Garage A, Patient Tower 2, the Red Elevator Bank, and whatever their destination might be.

On Oct. 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy slammed into the eastern seaboard of the U.S., decimating parts of New York and New Jersey while extending its reach of destruction as far north as Canada and as far south as North Carolina. But for the healthcare industry, New York City served as a microcosmic example of what can happen to a healthcare system under the worst of circumstances—both the good and the bad.

When The Beryl Institute released its inaugural The State of Patient Experience report in 2011, those words “patient experience,” while plenty important, didn’t quite hold the heft they do today.

Two years later, healthcare organizations across the country are feeling the additional weight of health reform and shifting reimbursements, as patient satisfaction takes a seat at the table in a new value-based care delivery model.

The results of Healthcare Design’s 2013 Corporate Rankings Survey* are in, showing what architecture/engineering and construction firms rose to the top in 2012, based on several categories.

Companies were ranked by number of healthcare projects completed in 2012, total 2012 healthcare billings, number of RFPs received in 2012, and the number of healthcare contracts signed in 2012.

Cancer treatment is seeing a newcomer joining the ranks of more traditional approaches like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy—proton therapy.

The results of Healthcare Design’s 2013 Corporate Rankings Survey* are in, showing what architecture/engineering and construction firms rose to the top in 2012, based on several categories.

Companies were ranked by number of healthcare projects completed in 2012, total 2012 healthcare billings, number of RFPs received in 2012, and the number of healthcare contracts signed in 2012.

I’m diving into the topic of wayfinding for our July issue of Healthcare Design, looking at where common mistakes are made and identifying realistic ways to avoid them. And while the bulk of what I’ll be discussing in the article will focus on a single facility—as well as transitions between front doors, parking garages, etc.—I also asked my sources to offer some advice on what to do when dealing with “The Frankenstein Campus.”

It’s an era of healthcare worker shortages. From physicians getting out of primary care medicine to baby boomer nurses approaching retirement to newly insured individuals growing the overall patient population, there are all too many reasons to take notice.

With demand for skilled employees rising right alongside the stress levels of workers, it’s no surprise that a recent survey shows healthcare staffers are exploring their professional options.