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Rethinking Medical Construction During the Coronavirus Pandemic

RETHINKING MEDICAL CONSTRUCTION DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

on July 14, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has brought changes to nearly every area of society, including construction and health care. Health care facilities have been inundated with patients, and administrators have had to come up with better and more ingenious ways to keep their patients safe while in their facilities. As new clinics and hospitals are constructed in the coming months, there are sure to be plenty of changes in medical construction, remodeling, and health care tenant improvement in Los Angeles.

Technology

Technology is expected to take a bigger role in everything. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) is going to become huge as it will be needed to track how many people are in a building, where they are at and how they are moving. Artificial intelligence can also be used to identify whether certain people in crowds are ill. While AI software can certainly be added to older buildings, it makes the most sense to build this in during the initial construction phase whenever possible to ensure that costs are reduced and that surrounding structures are optimized for these innovative new services.

Conversions

some existing structures may continue to be retrofitted for medical needs over the upcoming years. In particular, the Los Angeles area has seen this done as medical construction has looked at taking existing convention centers and similar public-use buildings and turning them into medical facilities. Today, people are realizing that the number of hospital beds currently in existence in the area are not enough to care for a large number of people over the course of a pandemic. Construction contractors must now be ready to retrofit buildings at a moment’s notice, converting large spaces into smaller patient rooms, creating easy-access nursing bays and private yet simple patient rooms.

Ventilations

building in the correct ventilation strategies is going to be vital. In the past, facilities were built to be tight and to hold onto their existing air for maximized energy savings. However, with certain air-borne illnesses, ventilation with plenty of fresh air is important for infection control. Certain building standards ensure that there is better airflow, and these medical construction methods are sure to be used even more frequently in the post-coronavirus world.

Social Distancing

Both new construction and facility remodels are going to see plenty of ideas for social distancing and contactless care methods that will need to be constructed in upcoming months. Even once the virus goes away to some extent, many people are certainly still going to feel concerned about many activities that they never used to think about twice. Such simple things as opening a door, using a communal pen, stepping up to a desk and using larger restrooms may be unthinkable for even the next few years.

Medical construction is sure to reflect these concerns as well as the latest scientific knowledge as it continues to advance. Contactless sliding doors, plexiglass partitions in clinics, larger waiting areas, more open spaces and private bathrooms are sure to become the norm.

Construction has always been about more than just walls and ceilings, doors and windows. When it comes to the medical industry, construction has to take into account the unique demands of the intricate and exacting health care environment. The health care facilities of tomorrow, including neighborhood clinics, metropolitan hospitals and specialty care centers, are sure to reflect these needs with thoughtful designs that maximize patient and practitioner safety.

Whether it is with an unconventional design for a new facility or some technologically friendly changes to an older building, Landmark Construction & Development Group stands ready to help with all types of medical construction throughout the Los Angeles area.

Landmark Construction & Development Group Inc.RETHINKING MEDICAL CONSTRUCTION DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

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