by Brianna Crandall — November 1, 2017 — How is the physical hospital setting affecting patient care? In order to ensure an overall positive experience and to remain vigilant in combating hospital-acquired infections (HAI), health systems are focusing on how their hospital facilities are designed and managed, according to a new report from global specialized real estate services and investment management firm JLL.
With scorecards such as the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers (HCAHPS) making patient perceptions more visible than ever, hospitals can improve their quality initiatives through placemaking and maintaining aesthetics, points out JLL.
George Mills, director of Healthcare Technical Operations at JLL, stated:
The design and management of facilities has a direct impact on broader organizational efforts to improve patient experience and outcomes while managing the cost of care. A hospital can employ the best medical staff around, but that can be overshadowed when patients come in to find paint chipping off the wall or a leaky pipe in the bathroom; it sends a certain message about the administration’s attention to detail.
Aesthetics are often a low priority in the grand scheme of hospital issues, but JLL’s Placemaking and Facilities: A Key to Patient Satisfaction reveals how every design and maintenance detail — from ventilation systems to room fixtures — plays a role in reducing infections and ensuring patient safety. Healthcare organizations that assess and budget for regular interior improvements can dramatically impact the safety and satisfaction of both patients and staff.
Mills continued:
Viewing the physical condition of facilities through a broader lens can help put issues in the right context for leadership. The key question is: “Do our facilities create a culture of quality and safety?” It’s critical for hospitals to centralize facility management and maintenance issues in order to prioritize risks appropriately and proactively address them.
Automating facilities management (FM) systems and creating a central documentation repository give the management team a more active role in responding to critical facilities-related issues and improving the patient experience. With automation and leading best practices, compliance can become a built-in part of the FM process, ensuring a safe and positive patient experience.
Peter Bulgarelli, executive managing director of JLL’s Healthcare group, remarked:
When you automate compliance and reporting processes, both management and facility teams can focus on the big issues and ensure efforts are strategically aligned with broader organizational goals. A centralized system can bring greater rigor and speed to how organizations approach facility problems.
For more insights on how hospital facilities affect the patient experience, download JLL’s new report: Placemaking and Facilities: A Key to Patient Satisfaction. To learn about the impact geography has on outpatient renovation costs, download JLL’s 2017 Outpatient Renovation Cost Guide.
The JLL Healthcare Solutions service was created to enhance the patient experience, improve clinical outcomes and drive financial performance through real estate and facilities solutions. The group provides dedicated support to manage real estate needs and facilities, shares guidance on portfolio and location strategy, offers financing support for purchase or development, and assists with transactions for the healthcare system campus. With 540 hospital clients, JLL Healthcare’s team of 1,500 dedicated professionals supports 343 million square feet of healthcare facilities.
