Jocelyn Lum Frederick (Headshot credit: HC Tangram Design)
Healthcare Design’s 2025 Healthcare Design Industry Predictions series continues with Jocelyn Lum Frederick, founder and medical design planner at HC Tangram Design (Cambridge, Mass.).
Here, Frederick shares thoughts on what opportunities and challenges are ahead for the industry over the next 12 months, including a focus on rural health and utilizing community resources to improve health and wellness.
Healthcare Design: Where do you think the healthcare design industry will head in 2025?
Jocelyn Lum Frederick: Those projects under construction will continue, but the urgency to control budgets and schedules will be scrutinized more closely. Projects in the early stages of planning may be paused to better understand the impact of funding and reimbursements.
HCD: What’s the biggest opportunity for change in the new year?
Frederick: I think the timing is right to really focus on rural health and how can we better use the resources within the communities to improve overall health and wellness as a part of a greater healthcare system.
HCD: Do you think the new administration’s policies will affect construction prices and labor—how? If so, what impact will that have on the senior living design sector?
Frederick: Costs will rise, labor shortages will continue to occur. Competition within the skilled labor market will continue especially if the data and technology sectors increase their facilities growth.
Currently the MEP sector is burdened by technology-related construction, i.e. large pieces of equipment are being prepurchased for future needs, burdening the ability of ongoing healthcare-related construction to acquire the equipment at reasonable pricing or availability.
HCD: Do you anticipate renovations to continue to outpace new construction in the coming year or is there another shift on your radar?
Frederick: Yes, but it will be targeted to select departments. There will be continued emphasis on emergency and behavioral health services, as well as a continued move to all private rooms (larger, urban academic medical centers).
For more insights from industry leaders, read here.
