Like a well-worn roadway, old hospitals and technology may get the job done, but they are not ideal—especially for an aging population increasingly reliant on state-of-the-art treatment facilities. While the country is full of infrastructure in need of an upgrade, at least one state—Connecticut—is poised to bring its hospital and health-care sector into the 21st century with advanced medicine and facilities to match. Analysts say that with more than $1 billion of expansions and new building planned during the next six years, the state's hospital and health-care sector may be well-positioned to throw a lifeline to the ailing construction industry.
"This is an obvious area that will grow over the years. It's a matter of demographics [as the population ages] and technology advances," says John Butts, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Connecticut in Wethersfield. "If you are talking about pockets of strength, the health-care sector is one."