February 2019
How to Plan for Your Expanding ASC
By Chris Richardson, Client Executive The number of ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) is increasing exponentially as providers and payers work to reduce the costs of healthcare. According to a recent report, more than half of outpatient procedures were performed in [...]
January 2019
How to Clear the Air in Emergency Departments
By Allen Smith, Senior Mechanical Engineer Preventing infections is a challenge in any emergency department. In particular, communicable infections like tuberculosis, measles, and influenza can be spread through airborne pathogens, putting patients at risk. EDs need to consider how their [...]
Adopting a New Mindset to Improve Your ED Design Process
By David Martin, AIA, LEED AP - Director of Architecture Projects, like people, are all unique in their own way. One might conclude that because FreemanWhite specializes in healthcare architectural design our projects and their deliveries are more similar than [...]
September 2018
Why Hospitals Pay More for Cheap Lights
Typically the payback period of LED hospital lighting is less than twenty-four months. But the value of its improvements in the quality of care? Priceless. Quality LED lighting prevents the healthcare equivalent of selecting black instead of navy blue [...]
Why a Hospital Facility Director Should be Scared of the Dark
As kids, we were all a little scared of the dark. But when the lights go out in your hospital facilities, how much more afraid of the dark are you now? Some hospital facility directors may feel safe because [...]
Temperature Complaints? One Way Facility Directors Can Resolve
Many hospital facilities receive a plethora of “too hot/too cold” complaints from staff. Maintenance personnel may have no choice but to apply band-aid solutions to rapidly address user dissatisfaction. But by not addressing the root cause at a systemic [...]
Incarcerated Patients in the Emergency Department: How Safe is Your Facility?
Many emergency departments (EDs) care for the types of detained patients who require a legal blood draw to validate alcohol intoxication levels, or who sustain injuries from an altercation. However, a select group of emergency departments service a substantial [...]
How To Not Be in the News for a Legionella Outbreak
With the recent reports of Legionella in the news, many facility managers wonder if an outbreak could happen at their hospital. It can. The following environments in healthcare facilities offer the ideal environment for Legionella growth: Potable water system [...]
How to Catch More Illegal Weapons at ED Security: Expert Advice
“Security presence” in the emergency department can be as simple as an officer sitting in a chair at the greeter desk. Or it can be as involved as a metal detector, a canine team, and ambulance patient wanding. The [...]
How to Boost Your Ambulatory Strategy and Thwart Retail Health Threats
With population health changing the healthcare industry, a different mindset challenges us to rethink ambulatory real estate strategy. Tomorrow’s MOB tenants may compete with retail health providers like Walgreens for business, changing the way we plan and invest in [...]
What’s the Least Expensive Way to Solve Water Chiller System Issues?
Most hospital facilities we work with have chilled water system issues. These issues tend to manifest as hot offices, unstable OR temperatures, or concerns of critical equipment failure. Many hospitals think the solution is to “add another chiller.” In [...]