Room for improvement
MEDICAL FACILITIES COULD STILL BE MUCH BETTER
Dear Reader:
As the parents of three active children ages 8, 11 and 13, my wife and I have ample opportunities to experience healthcare real estate first hand.
Hardly a week passes without someone needing a routine check-up or, more likely, to be seen for the latest antibiotic-resistant virus to be making the rounds at school.
Our two oldest children – both boys – also seem to be in a pitched battle to see who can get the most stitches from various mishaps.
That frequently affords us the opportunity to experience the best of what local emergency rooms have to offer.
Even I got to experience that first hand earlier this week when another driver rear-ended my car at full speed as I was stopped, waiting for traffic to clear so I could make a left turn.
No one was seriously hurt; they just checked me over and sent me home with instructions to take Motrin and a prescription for muscle relaxants.
But the trunk of my car went from about four feet in length to about a foot in a millisecond. I am walking proof of the genius of how well crumple zones work.
(By the way, the other driver apologized profusely and freely admitted it was all his fault. Yes, friends, he was fiddling with his cell phone. I don’t think he even braked. But don’t get me started.)
Anyway, amid these various misadventures, my family and I have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of what Minneapolis-St. Paul healthcare real estate has to offer. And – making the leap that healthcare real estate in your area probably presents a similar range of quality – I am going to generalize a bit.
The good news is that healthcare real estate has come a long way in appearance, quality and convenience.
For that, I am convinced that we can thank the building – critics would say overbuilding – boom of the past few years.
Hospitals and health systems with aging facilities have modernized, expanded or replaced antiquated buildings.
Increasing competition in some areas has also prompted systems to build new facilities to meet demand and to stake their claim to emerging markets.
The bad news is that we still have a way to go. Inconvenient parking, poor interior and exterior signage, inefficient floor plans, uncomfortable waiting rooms and other deficiencies still plague many healthcare facilities – even some new ones.
As an industry, we’ve made great strides. But let’s continue to remember to push the envelope with new and better projects that are both profitable and patient friendly.
That’s it for this month. I better sign off before the muscle relaxant kicks in.
And, for the love of Pete, use voice commands and a headset if you use your (expletive deleted) cell phone while driving!
Murray W. Wolf, Publisher
The full content of this article is only available to paid subscribers. If you are an active subscriber, please log in. To subscribe, please click here: SUBSCRIBE
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.