A Turnkey Approach – Flexible Design Meets Modular Construction
Transitional Care Units have been on our mind for a long while. We have been on a search for increased flexibility in patient care, and intent on finding a reasonable way to provide affordable step-down care using a dedicated transitional care unit. We believe that a dedicated transitional care unit can reduce reliance on expensive beds in other areas of a hospital, and affordably extend the stay of patients that may otherwise have poor outcomes if discharged too early. The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic has further highlighted the stress on our healthcare systems caused when ICUs overflow and general medical / surgical units get pressed into servicing very sick patients. Where are the flexible transitional care environments that address this?
We applaud the efforts of those contractors that have found ways to quickly provide crash-built COVID treatment units. These fill the void during the emergency but appear more aligned with short-term M*A*S*H units than with the quality, longevity, flexibility, and aesthetics of modern healthcare environments.
A new partnership provides turnkey transitional care units
We are excited to announce PRA has become a design partner to MDN Development, LLC to provide transitional care units using modular construction techniques – modular healthcare! Our prototype design provides a stand-alone 60-bed transitional care unit. We capitalize on the efficiency and quality improvements possible by combining factory-constructed premanufactured units, on-site assembly, and final finishing by local forces to provide 42,000gsf transitional care center within twelve months. MDN’s turnkey approach provides wrap-around services to limit capital outlay, provide affordable financing, and can be occupied quickly.
Our prototype transitional care center is designed to provide an affordable step-down unit to move patients out of expensive beds in acute-care units. Moving patients into less-expensive beds has positive benefits to the healthcare group, the insurer, and the patient.
Modular construction increases quality and decreases duration
The building is composed of individual modules, premanufactured in a climate-controlled factory. The factory environment increases the quality of construction, increases worker efficiency, and stabilizes finishes. Each module is pre-fit to its neighbor to ensure proper alignment of building structure, building systems, and finishes.
The design of each module is flexible within the requirements of over-the-road shipping. For instance, our transitional care unit prototype includes a variety of modules: PT rooms, Nursing Stations, Administrative Offices, Dining Areas, Family Consultation Rooms, Patient Room Suites, and even Negative-Pressure Isolation Suites. These modules are shipped to a prepared building pad and placed into the project for local crews to integrate building systems and complete finishes.
Modules can be arranged in any configuration, providing a transitional care step-down unit for 20 patients or an entire transitional care center for 200 patients. The modular design allows fast evaluation of options to react to any type of evaluation criteria and maximize operational efficiency. Our system does not limit architectural design – the full range of aesthetic expression is available to ensure the interior finishes and exterior materials reinforce corporate branding and live in harmony with adjacent buildings. The materials and construction detailing are very similar to traditional construction, yielding a building with a 40+ year life.
A Turnkey Approach to Modern Modular Healthcare
The extended project team provides all services necessary to create a modern medical facility. Our process starts with a feasibility and financing study. A lease is provided once the performa is confirmed. Our extended team provides all necessary design and construction services from feasibility study to ribbon cutting, from entitlements to commissioning, and from furniture selection to provisioning general medical equipment.
MDN Development manages the process to streamline decision making, reducing the impact on busy healthcare executives. Our prototype transitional care center can open within twelve months – shaving nearly 18 months off a traditional design / bid / build process and saving countless meeting and coordination hours and reduces holding costs.
Improved Outcomes
We believe that applying premanufactured modular construction to transitional care centers will have several benefits:
- Increased patient care options:
- Transition of low-acuity patients out of high-acuity units.
- Appropriate and affordable care for low-acuity patients.
- Longer stays for patients with potential poor outcomes from ‘early’ discharge.
- Increased care and staffing flexibility.
- Decreased project duration.
- Affordable high-quality construction.
- Financing that limits capital outlay.
- And, ultimately, increased outcomes for both patients and the healthcare organization.
This turnkey care center is suitable for hospitals and healthcare providers of nearly any size, and MDN Development has created a team of industry experts able to provide a customized transitional care unit anywhere in North America. We are excited about the potential for these projects to increase patient care while decreasing healthcare costs.
Interested healthcare providers can find more information by visiting our transitional care unit brochure. Contact information is available on the MDN Development website or the back page of the brochure.