Case Studies Backbone of Healthcare

When Chris O’Higgins showed up for the grand opening of Jefferson Healthcare’s new dental clinic on June 18, he expected to see the usual suspects: team members, company executives, a few contractors, maybe a local reporter or two. Instead, nearly 80 people—including many local residents—turned out to celebrate the new facility, the first in Washington […]

It’s not just what the doctors ordered, it’s what former patients and their families advised when the University of Vermont Medical Center was about to commence with an ambitious addition six years ago. For all too often those folks—the real stakeholders in any healthcare project—seem left out of the equation when it comes to layout […]

It’s about meeting the very overdue need of tending to the mental health of some of the most vulnerable children and teens in California’s Orange County. The specialized nature of such treatment being what it is, the standards of CHOC Children’s Mental Health Inpatient Center had to exceed the very stringent codes by which the […]

Injuries and ailments wait for nobody, Rudy Yadao Jr. muses from his office in San Bruno, California. More than just time and money could be at stake if his employer’s urgent care centers are not built on time and operationally ready by autumn. “Got to plan for success and prepare for the worst,” he tells […]

You won’t see Joe Holland peering into a microscope to determine whether the latest pharmaceutical innovation is ready for a clinical trial. But at the Charles River research facility in Reno, Nevada, he’s known to keep a sharp eye on how the building and its labs measure up to the exacting rigors of medical science—because […]

It’s a fact of construction life that the bosses have been bemoaning for years. Though the trades are teeming with opportunities, there’s not a rush of young men and women to be electricians, mechanics, pipefitters, masons, painters, plumbers, carpenters and all the other vocational roles so necessary in bringing a blueprint’s intent to fruition. As […]

It’s a squeak or a wobble and it’s disrupting your rest in a hospital bed. The housekeeping staff is friendly—they smile when they empty wastebaskets and clean surfaces. But you always know when they’re coming because of that squeak or wobble. Part of Kenneth Bower’s job is making sure the carts are quieter. If nothing […]

Marvin Smith once managed large airfield maintenance and construction for the U.S. Air Force. Today, he’s focused on intricate medical complexes. Ultimately, the two endeavors aren’t all that different, the civil engineer says. Both are pressure-filled, require significant attention to detail and allow little margin for error. “I do enjoy the challenges,” says Smith, assistant […]

It certainly doesn’t happen often, an unstable or disgruntled person entering the workplace and setting off a scenario that must be quickly defused. But there’s enough risk of this occupational hazard for Nicholas Nilio to take preemptive measures on behalf of Healthfirst employees, New York’s largest nonprofit health insurer. Director of facilities and workplace security […]

With just two months left to finish up a new mental healthcare facility in Sacramento, construction workers in March were on high alert, given the governor’s recently released stay-at-home order as COVID-19 cases presented themselves nearby. While the entire on-site team was considered an essential workforce, some were understandably nervous. Police officers would stop them […]