Innovation and sustainability by design

Any health care or educational facility requires four basic elements to succeed: a clear vision, a strong development team, a scope that is in alignment with the available funding, and a plan that lays out a strategy for long-term sustainability. In the pre-development phase of a project, these are the areas where PHMI works intensively with clients to ensure a solid foundation on which to build a successful project.

PHMI assists with the planning, design, and development of innovative facilities that meet international standards and enable our clients to advance their mission. Our approach is to work closely with project stakeholders and industry experts to discover the appropriate integration of the clinical or educational vision with the physical infrastructure and operational systems. Through the planning and design process, we help practitioners analyze how they deliver care or education in their existing environs and to explore new models to increase their effectiveness. On projects focused on developing new hospitals or redesigning existing clinical services, we draw on clinicians and faculty working in top hospitals at the leading edge of advances in care. Similarly, when working on the development of new educational facilities, we bring to bear the latest concepts on active learning.

Key questions

• What key information about the local and/or regional health care environment or market must be taken into consideration in the development of new facilities?
• What key information regarding local and/or regional health status indicators, including burden of disease and patient demand, must be taken into consideration?
• How should the new facility address local cultural considerations?
• What operational systems must be developed or optimized to support clinical and/or educational programs?
• What opportunities exist to create (or replicate) innovative models of infrastructure and systems, in alignment with project goals?

Selected programs

• Shanghai, China: Led the planning process for a 327-bed hospital, including mentoring the local design team and working with local regulatory authorities to revamp building regulations in order to foster an advanced model of care
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Managed the planning process for a new 400-bed tertiary care academic medical center, including providing oversight of the facility’s clinical, infrastructural, and operational design, and integrating the contributions of more than 40 faculty advisors
• Xiamen, China: Assisted with the development of the design and equipment/IT plan for a new general medical/surgical hospital
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Led the design of innovative teaching spaces for a postgraduate medical center
• Islamabad, Pakistan: Oversaw the development of a master plan for a new integrated academic medical campus and presently leading the detailed planning of a 350-bed tertiary care hospital