Lunch & Learn: The Capacity Dilemma - Planning for the Surge

Описание: Speaker: Bill Ledger, Director of Healthcare Design

Speaker Bio:

Bill is a Board-certified healthcare architect with over 35 years of experience and the director of healthcare design for Design Collaborative. He has been involved in hundreds of healthcare projects for multiple hospitals and health systems, including Mercy Health St. Rita’s Medical Center, Van Wert Health, and Parkview Health. Significant projects for these clients include the Van Wert Health Surgery and Inpatient Expansion, St. Rita’s Medical Center Emergency Department Addition and Renovation, and the Parkview Dekalb Hospital Second Floor Med/Surg Patient Care Unit Renovation. One of the few ACHA-certified architects in Indiana, Bill was the first applicant to pass the board-certification exam in Indiana in 2003 and is the longest active certified healthcare architect in Indiana. Considered a thought leader in his field, he regularly participates in national healthcare design forums and conferences and is a sought after subject matter expert.



The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed our healthcare system in the U.S. like nothing before. The impact on hospital facilities in particular has been deeply felt in many ways – from equipment shortages to healthcare delivery models and efficiencies to patient outcomes and satisfaction to cash flow and capacity. Even though some areas of our country didn’t have the large number of critical patients in the first wave that was anticipated, it served as a wake-up call that hospitals can be better prepared for future patient surges – whether due to a pandemic, natural disaster, or mass casualty incident. Today’s healthcare environments need the ability to flex their patient care spaces to meet fluctuating demand. With physical environments, this is easier said than done. Limitations with available capital resources, physical space, and even regulatory controls can hinder efforts to be prepared for a higher than normal patient census; however, surge capacity can be achieved within some current floorplans with limited interior reconstruction. This presentation will feature two design solutions where adaptable patient care spaces were implemented.

Learning Objectives:

Explore the need and demand for flexible and surge spaces
Identify strategies for locating surge spaces in your own healthcare facilities
Learn how two health systems increased capacity up to 45 percent within their existing space