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One of the joys of facilities management in health care is that every day is different. You need to prepare for unexpected issues, such as a roof leaks or broken pipes that can arise at any given time, while also planning for the future.
 
Health care facilities management involves many different aspects of system operations, including the support services necessary for our day-to-day facility operations. As a result, the greatest amount of my time and resources are inevitably tied to people, buildings and equipment.
 
Martin Health System currently operates three hospitals, a freestanding emergency department and more than a dozen ambulatory locations in the Treasure Coast region. When I joined the system as assistant vice president of facilities management and support services a year ago, it was apparent we needed a program that would predict and plan for ongoing facilities infrastructure needs.
 
Over the past three months, the entire facilities engineering team was engaged in the preparation and implementation of a predictable maintenance and replacement program that would address building and equipment needs based on their average life cycle.
 
The result of this “cyclical replacement program” is a thorough plan that will prevent costly repairs, save the system time and money, and ensure that our infrastructure can meet the demands of the future.
 
A plan to update our equipment will also allow Martin Health to be more energy efficient and reduce our post-consumer waste and utility costs. Additionally, this will allow for accurate capital budget forecasting over the next five years.
 
With this program now in place, our decision-making and budget-planning processes have clearer goals that align with the organization’s overall strategic plan and mission.  
 
Like many health care providers across the nation, our greatest challenge as a system moving forward will be securing the necessary financial resources to meet the demand of some of our aging facilities. The cyclical replacement program is essential to more accurately project and anticipate costs so we can attend to the infrastructure in a proactive, evidence-based way. At the same time, we will need to stay focused on the competing demands of capital resources.
 
Accomplishing these objectives could not occur without an outstanding team, which we are fortunate to have at Martin Health System. Our facilities engineering professionals have varied skill sets and areas of expertise, but they work as a collaborative unit to accomplish initiatives such as the cyclical replacement program that support the Martin Health mission of providing exceptional health care, hope and compassion to every person, every time.