Healthcare Hits the Reset Button

DPR Construction's Deb Sheehan Shares Economic Outlook and Challenges Facing the Healthcare Market at SquareFootage Summit  

PHILADELPHIA, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare providers recognize an essential shift in facility design and construction from "cost per square foot" to "value per square foot": for patients, the healthcare workforce, and communities, according to Deb Sheehan, DPR Construction's healthcare market strategy leader who shared an economic outlook for the industry during the March 1 SquareFootage Summit in Philadelphia.

She explored how healthcare providers are confronting today's financial challenges by looking at key factors affecting market dynamics. Sheehan was joined by Natalie Hagerty, Senior Director of Facilities Planning + Design for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Healthcare systems are being challenged by a weakening of physician loyalty, particularly with consumers under age 50, who are wooed by new market entrants. The rise of high deductible health plans is leading to price sensitivity, and consumers are researching to make informed decisions about health providers and care options.

As health organizations assess growth strategies, they must consider payer reimbursement policies and consumer preferences. Additionally, home-based care models, telehealth, and patient engagement tools are becoming more prevalent to meet the demand for access outside the traditional facilities.

"As new market entrants apply retail strategies in outpatient care, hospitals are challenged to reimagine how to deliver care in non-hospital settings as part of their long-term planning," noted Sheehan. "Integrated solutions that improve convenient access, user experience, and care delivery efficiency are vital to aid health organizations in restoring financial health and viability."

When considering what this means for healthcare capital projects, flexibility, speed-to-market, and efficiency are the new currency of building design and construction. Organizations are shifting focus to the total cost of ownership, reconciling the larger operational expenses of labor, supplies, and energy costs impacting their budgets.

DPR Construction is a forward-thinking, self-performing general contractor and construction manager specializing in technically complex and sustainable projects for the advanced technology, life sciences, healthcare, higher education and commercial markets. DPR's portfolio of work ranges from large-scale new construction to small tenant improvements and special projects. Founded in 1990, DPR is a great story of entrepreneurial success as a private, employee-owned company that has grown to a multi-billion-dollar organization with offices around the world. Strategically focused on delivering more predictable outcomes through applications of virtual design & construction, prefabrication, its corps of self-perform craft, and leveraging data to learn and improve from DPR consistently ranks among the top building contractors and employs approximately 13,000 professionals across its family of companies. For more information, visit http://www.dpr.com.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa Ruano
DPR Construction
Tel: 908-451-9622
Email: [email protected]  

SOURCE DPR CONSTRUCTION, INC