The pandemic, say AEC sources, creates opportunities for design and construction, as healthcare systems continue to move their services closer to where patients live, and as operators look for ways to “futureproof” their facilities to meet whatever comes next.Ĭontagion-control and safety protocols put in place at the onset of the pandemic are becoming standard for new projects and renovations. Healthcare, in fact, was one of the few nonresidential building types that showed year-to-year increases in construction spending over the first 10 months of 2020, according to Census Bureau estimates.
The pandemic accentuated the need for flexible healthcare and research facilities and services that can address present and future crises. The American Hospital Association expected hospital losses for 2020 to exceed $323 billion. America’s healthcare sector found itself in an ambivalent state in late 2020, as the coronavirus raged relentlessly across the country and as the distribution of two newly approved vaccines started rolling out to inoculate vulnerable population groups.Ĭoronavirus-related expenses had already leveled a financial blow to healthcare systems.
