Thinking Ahead Avoid ‘gotcha’ expenses, support long-range growth through strategic capital equipment planning BY LARA BERGER & GEOFFERY BAGWELL | PHOTOS BY DAN SCHWALM This is a story about a situa-tion that did not have to hap-pen. Imagine this: A hospital learns its 1.5T MRI has aged out and the imaging depart-ment wants an upgrade to a 3T system, only the current MRI space is too small and under-powered. Every year a decision about capital equipment is made — either to defer with short-term fixes or to make a hurried purchase. This health system is in break-and-replace mode whether they realize it or not. It’s costly, disruptive and could have been avoided had all the information been prepared earlier — even during the development of a long-range strategic plan. Aligning the growth strategy to capital equipment purchase planning, and including experts in the healthcare built environment, can help minimize costly surprises and service disruption — it’s growth by design. The inevitable break down The most obvious signal for equipment replacement is age and frequent breakdowns. When a hospital is caught flat-footed with a major equipment failure, a premium is paid for an expedited replacement that is shoehorned into the existing space. It’s hard to transition to a plan which identifies re-placement even when there is some remaining functional life because of the cost. A long-range equipment replacement schedule sup-ports predictability and allows for advancing clinical capabil-ity and volume growth. When including strategists, equip-ment planners, architects, designers and engineers in this process, hospitals can fuse their purchases with space and operational considerations to minimize any surprises. 38 Medical Construction & Design | MAY/JUNE 2024 | MCDMAG.COM
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