COVER STORY
functionality and efficiency of the cen- ter is a key component to making the center profitable. It’s hard to anticipate and understand the level of planning and design that is required for an ASC unless you’re experienced with and knowledgeable about the planning principles associated with this type of facility.” ASC owners can help an architect
by providing information about pa- tient flow, the overall experience of the ASC’s patients, staff flow, the prac- ticality of the information provided and current code compliance, says McDonald. “Have your objectives on hand, list the surgeries you do, have a plan for how many ORs you want and how many procedures a day you’d like to do,” he says. “The type of clientele is also important, as well as the image that you want to portray.” The owner also should have a con-
sultant provide documentation of all the surgical equipment that is required for the project, Hansen says. “We need to know the exact type of equipment that will go into your ASC or we could de- sign the space too big or too small, and
with space being a premium, this could create a financial burden on the overall project budget.” Many times the owner has somebody on staff to do that, but other times, the architect does the docu- menting for the owner. “Everybody’s pretty taxed these days, so we offer this coordination service for our owners to make sure the equipment is properly
teria,” says McDonald. “The aesthetic elements are added on to that.” “It’s the architect’s responsibility to
keep track of the building codes and ensure that the rules and regulations as- sociated with the department of health are satisfied when we plan and design an ASC,” Hansen adds. “You also have to have a good working relationship with
The more planning you do, the more efficient you are going to be executing the project, and the more you will understand and quantify the comprehensive project budget.”
—Mark L. Hansen, Mohagen/Hansen Architectural Group
placed. Sometimes we coordinate that and sometimes we work with the owner’s consultant if a client has a certain manu- facturer that provides the equipment. Having that person in the team keeps the project on track and flowing smoothly.” A lot of the design of the ASC in-
volves codes and guidelines, such as “maintaining
sterility, locker rooms for staff and post-anesthesia room cri-
the state department of health to ensure that your project moves through the sys- tem without any issues. Often, the state department of health is the local govern- ing agency for the federal government and is the licensing agent for Medicare and Medicaid ASC certification.” The interior designers, on their part, also need to have health care experi- ence, McDonald says. “The colors have to be right, the patterns cannot be too strong, and carpeting and furniture have to be appropriate. You just need to know what’s appropriate and what’s not.” Other than meeting strict codes, one of the biggest challenges is to build an ASC in a commercial building, McDonald says. “They are difficult to work in when compared to health care buildings,” he says. “Commer- cial buildings tend to have low ceiling heights and poor stairways. Given all those limitations, it’s harder to make that a successful project.” The other big challenge is devel- oping a realistic and comprehensive project budget, Hansen says. “There’s a construction budget and a project budget,” he explains. “The construc- tion budget is the hard cost, and the total project budget is the sum of the hard and soft costs, such as design fees, voice and data cabling, informa-
14 ASC FOCUS JANUARY 2013
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