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March 2018 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 49 ELEMENTS Health Care Design facilities, the inpatients will be more acute, requiring longer stays and increasing the total demand for inpatient care. New approaches in the design and planning of health care facilities are offering effective and efficient outcomes. Lean design and integrated delivery process are becoming the preferred project design process for many healthcare systems. This pulls the entire contingent of designers, ar- chitects, engineers and general contractors to the forefront with health care stakeholders to collaborate on the key needs and drivers for the facility. Using an IPD process al- lows the team to make decisions and manage budgets ef- ficiently by having everyone at the table, while facilitating the navigation of state and local agency requirements. Virtual reality is becoming a more common and effec- tive planning tool for hospital design. In 2018, more health care clients will benefit from VR technology as they partner with architects and designers to imagine and design com- plex spaces. The architectural team can take VR equipment directly to end users to review design interactively and ob- tain immediate feedback. Technology continues to evolve as consumer needs change, and the design and construc- tion industry will adapt to keep pace. As other industries have experienced, when cost mar- gins become pressure points, health care facility consolida- tion follows. Rural hospitals have been closing nationwide and hundreds more are at risk of closing in future years. Bloomberg reported a three-fold increase in health care bankruptcy filings in 2017, while Mayo Clinic announced a 2017 operating income over twice its operating income for 2016. Larger health care organizations will seek to capture revenue within their markets by diversifying to improve consumer outreach and increase physician referrals. To thrive, health care providers will be turning to strategies that maximize revenue and lower expenses. The health care design and construction industry will work to be a valuable resource in this ever-changing landscape. \\ msnow@gallunsnow.com UCHealth Carbon Valley Medical Center, Firestone, 15,300-square-foot outpatient MOB, including family prac- tice, pediatrics, including telehealth medicine. Interiors by Gallun Snow; architecture by BSA Lifestructures; landscape architecture by BHA; design engineering by R&R Inc. and AEI; construction by Gilmore Construction. Courtesy Caleb Tkach, AIAP VISIONARIES EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS ONE PROJECT AT A TIME AN EMPLOYEE OWNED, COLORADO CORPORATION www.wanerconstruction.com