Aug 13, 2015 -- Affordable, quality healthcare is essential to sustaining a vibrant society. Yet, the American healthcare industry is facing overwhelming uncertainty in almost every segment. In 2015, the National Institute of Building Sciences Academy for Healthcare Infrastructure (AHI) began working on five critical issues currently facing the healthcare facilities industry and established a Collaborative Research Team to focus on each issue. The individual teams consisted of four co-chairs representing America’s largest healthcare systems, as well as selected subject matter experts. On Monday, January 11, 2016, at the Academy for Healthcare Infrastructure 2016 Forum, to be held during Building Innovation 2016: The Institute’s Fourth Annual Conference & Expo in Washington, D.C., AHI will unveil the results of these six-month collaborations.

Team 1: Owner Organization for Successful Project Outcomes was co-chaired by Peter Dawson, Senior Vice President, Texas Children’s Hospital; John Becker, Director, Facilities Division, Defense Health Agency; John Kouletsis, Senior Vice President, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan; and Brian Holmes, Senior Vice President, Texas Health Resources. The subject matter experts included Doug Harper, Gilbane; Bruce Raber, Stantec; Patrick Duke, CBRE Healthcare; Stephen C. Wooldridge, MedStar Health; William R. Calhoun, Jr., Clark Construction; Judy Quasney, National Institutes of Health; and Sam Gioldasis, Walker Engineering. D. Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, Professor of Architecture, Texas A&M University, served as Team 1 Facilitator. This team was underwitten by Gilbane.

Team 2: Developing a Flexible Healthcare Infrastructure was co-chaired by Spencer Moore, Vice President, Chief Facilities Officer, MD Anderson Cancer Center; Walter B. Jones, Jr., Senior Vice President, MetroHealth System; Tom Kinman, Vice President, Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center; and Shayda Z. Bradley, Executive Director, Indiana University Health. The subject matter experts included Victor Sanvido, Southland Industries; Kurt Stahl, Hunt Construction Group; Richard M. Harris, FKP Architects; R. Clay Seckman, SSR Engineers; George Sterling, Trane Healthcare Practice; and Chip Cogswell, Cogswell, LLC. David Allison, FAIA, Distinguished Professor, Clemson University, served as Team 2 Facilitator. This team was underwritten by Southland Industries.

Team 3: Project Acceleration / Speed to Market Strategies was co-chaired by Donald H. Orndoff, Senior Vice President, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan; Frank Aucremanne, Executive Director, Cleveland Clinic; Scott Nelson, Director, Advocate Healthcare; and Dana E. Swenson, Senior Vice President, UMass Memorial Healthcare. The subject matter experts included Eric T. Burke, Balfour Beatty Construction; Victor Sanvido, Southland Industries; Brent Wilson, HKS Architects; Barbara Wagner, Clark Construction; Paul Strohm, HOK Architects; Coker Barton, Hoar Construction; and Michael Weiss, Working Buildings, LLC. Rebekah Gladson, FAIA, rggroup global, served as Team 3 Facilitator. This team was underwritten by Balfour Beatty.

Team 4: Defining the Next Generation’s Focus was co-chaired by Cindy Beckham, Executive Director, Mercy; Stephen C. Wooldridge, Vice President, MedStar Health; Kip C. Edwards, Vice President, Banner Health; and Jeffrey Land, Dignity Health. The subject matter experts included Carlos Gonzales, Clark Construction; Phil Tobey, Smith Group; and Zigmund Rubel, Aditazz. Mardelle Shepley, FAIA, Professor of Architecture, Cornell University, served as Team 4 Facilitator. This team was underwritten by Clark Construction.

Team 5: Reducing Initial Capital Costs was co-chaired by Robert F. McCoole, Senior Vice President, Ascension Health; Skip Smith, Vice President, Catholic Health Services; Don Wojtkowski, Executive Director, SSM Healthcare; and Jeffrey Land, Dignity Health. The subject matter experts included Chris Kay, Jacobs; Randy Keiser, Turner Construction; Richard Onken, Leo A Daly; Brian Garbecki, Gilbane; David Prusha, HKS Architects; and Geoffrey Stricker, Edgemoor Infrastructure. Dennis Bausman, PhD, Construction Science, Clemson University, served as Team 5 Facilitator. This team was underwritten by Jacobs.

Established as a collaborative research program to bring leading healthcare professionals together to address industry challenges at a national level, the Academy is working to materially improve the processes used to create and maintain the incredibly complex built environment required to effectively support America’s healthcare mission. Learn more about AHI.

The Academy for Healthcare Infrastructure 2016 Forum is just one of a number of events to be held during Building Innovation 2016. See the full Conference schedule.

Registration opens September 1.