Children’s hospital finds savings opportunities via data analysis

A children’s hospital in north Texas had concerns about its ability to compete in the market with extremely tight land constraints and had previously opened a second facility in an upscale suburb on the north of town. In the new location, the hospital had purchased significant land for growth in the 50-year foreseeable future.

Although the facility was further along in its life cycle, evaluation showed it was spending appropriately in capital renewal projects and enjoyed a more indelible design for a longer life cycle. The facilities team were interested in deferred maintenance challenges and looking to tell a better story to leadership for improved future funding.

One of their challenges was that space to expand at their primary location was difficult and came at a very high price. Vertical expansion of the facility was very problematic and the existing facility is a multistory high-rise health care model, so it was not an optimal solution. The institution also was looking to prioritize support for its operations staffing and to assure it had the proper complement of competencies within the team.

As anticipated and validated by the engagement, benchmarking children’s hospitals should be done within the specialty children’s health care market. The comparisons with academic medical centers provided some very relevant and some less relevant information, but the study of the data streams was both insightful and informative to their facility activities.

Currently, the hospital is working with Sightlines, a Gordian Company, to better understand outcomes and to inform activities in the future. The health care pilot has been very successful, and the learning has been excellent from both the health care team and the team from Sightlines. The opportunities seem robust and are like an experience within higher education with special differences identified within the critical care space.

Of note, one outcome is the substantial value identified within similar treatment facilities and tremendous value from benchmarking within individual systems to assist with prioritization of activities.