Two separate conferences held in Manhattan recently emphasized two major themes in hospital and health-care construction: Project teams must be flexible as client demand evolves with changes in the marketplace, and hospitals themselves must be made more resilient to major weather events, such as Superstorm Sandy.
"The future is in ambulatory care," Gary Acord, executive director of planning, design and construction at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told attendees at ENR New York's "The Future of Health-Care Construction" conference, held on Feb. 26. "We don't predict a lot of growth in inpatient facilities" or in pure research sites. MSKCC forecasts annual project capital spending at $100 million to $150 million.