PDC Summit to spur innovative approaches

Hospitals are entering uncharted territory as they consider value-based delivery models and other changes on the horizon, and the professionals involved in planning, designing and building hospitals need to be prepared to blaze new trails. The International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction (PDC Summit) brings together leaders with diverse perspectives to discover new ways to create value and innovation that will help facilities now and in the future.

The 2015 PDC Summit, to be held March 15–18 in San Antonio, is focused on innovation and flexibility — critical features for health care facilities facing an unknown future. The keynote address, “Fueling Health Care Innovation through Diverse Perspectives,” will be delivered by Tom Kelley, partner at the renowned design and innovation consultancy IDEO. Kelley is a best-selling author who wrote Creative Confidence, The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation.

Other session topics include health care facilities for the future, teaching hospitals, creating a legacy and insight on what the C-suite will support. One session will focus on what flexibility means in the future health care environment. Hospitals seeking flexibility typically have added more and larger rooms since space was considered a revenue-driver. Under value-based models, however, these spaces may become cost centers as the focus shifts to improving health and reducing hospital stays. Another interesting session will explain how to repurpose existing health care facilities to meet the needs of the future.

Sessions are divided into tracks on broad topics, including the principles of planning and design, principles of construction, innovation, leadership, the Facility Guidelines Institute’s Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Outpatient Facilities, and regulatory issues. New this year is a track focused on delivering value to senior-level professionals and those at the director, vice president and C-suite levels. It provides high-level guidance for delivering value and help in bending the cost curve.

In addition to peer-reviewed educational sessions, the PDC Summit also features unmatched networking opportunities by bringing together a wide variety of professionals and giving them a chance to learn from each other, make valuable business connections and shape the future of the health care physical environment.

Those interested in becoming a Certified Healthcare Constructor (CHC) may be interested in attending a CHC exam preparation workshop on Sunday before the conference begins. The workshop includes test-taking tips and an overview of the topics identified in the CHC content outline as well as practice questions. The CHC exam will be offered Wednesday. Separate registration is required for both the workshop and the exam.

Registration for the 2015 PDC Summit is now open, and early-bird rates are available until Feb. 2. Visit www.pdcsummit.org to read about sessions, register or learn more. 

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Important monographs available

ASHE makes important resources available to members. Following are two recently released monographs that can be accessed by ASHE members as free PDFs at www.ashe.org/resources/ management_monographs.

• Life Safety Code Comparison. The 2012 edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s Life Safety Code offers new design and compliance options for health care facilities that didn’t exist in previous editions. This ASHE monograph provides an exhaustive list of the changes in the new edition and a detailed comparison with the 2000 and 2009 editions.

• Room Ventilation and Airborne Disease. This ASHE monograph examines research on how room ventilation affects airborne-disease transmission in health care facilities. Farhad Memarzadeh, Ph.D., PE, examines findings that consider the effects of air changes per hour on infection transmission.

Design guidelines available to industry through ASHE

The 2014 editions of the Facility Guidelines Institute’s Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Outpatient Facilities and the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Residential Health, Care, and Support Facilities can be purchased through ASHE at www.ASHEstore.com.