Constructing with Care

• Harnessing Prefabrication to Balance the Value Equation: Achieving Cost Certainty and Mitigating Risk

  In Episode 18 of Constructing With Care, host Leslie Tullio welcomes back Sarah Francis (Enterprise AVP of Standards and Activation at Advocate Health), Jeff Schroder (AVP of Planning, Design & Construction at Atrium Health), and Sean Ashcroft (Healthcare Core Market Leader at DPR Construction). Together, they explore how prefabrication and standardization in healthcare environments drive cost certainty, boost efficiencies, reduce risk, and still allow for innovation. This episodes highlights:  The importance of robust pre‑construction collaboration: by bringing decision‑makers onboard sooner, teams can identify schedule savings and cost efficiencies early. How knowing handoffs between trades in advance enables reducing two weeks of work from scopes, enhancing efficiency on-site. The 80/20 rule: 80% standardized design ensures efficiency; 20% flexibility supports unique needs. How standardization frees time to focus on innovation—like implementing AI, new tools, and future‑proofed master planning. Why prefabrication enhances cost certainty, expedites schedules, elevates quality, and reduces risk. Tips to influence stakeholders, demonstrating community benefit, clinical engagement, proven partners, and breaking traditional paradigms.

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• Harnessing Prefabrication to Balance the Value Equation: Improving care delivery and operational efficiencies.

  In Episode 17 of Constructing With Care, host Leslie Tullio welcomes back Sarah Francis (Enterprise AVP of Standards and Activation at Advocate Health), Jeff Schroder (AVP of Planning, Design & Construction at Atrium Health), and Sean Ashcroft (Healthcare Core Market Leader at DPR Construction) for a deep dive into the impact of standardization in healthcare construction. Together, they explore how reducing variation across campuses not only enhances operational efficiency and construction outcomes but also significantly improves caregiver training and patient experience. The conversation highlights Advocate Health’s journey toward adopting standardization, including lessons learned, the importance of collaboration, and the growing embrace of prefabrication in healthcare design and construction. Key Topics Covered: [00:01:00] Why standardization matters: benefits across efficiency, training, and care consistency [00:02:00] Lessons from Advocate Health’s multi-year implementation journey [00:03:00] The importance of mindset, tenacity, and leadership in driving change [00:04:00] Creating collaborative spaces for innovation and shared ownership [00:06:00] How prefabrication evolves and improves over time [00:07:30] Gaining trade partner buy-in and building budget alignment [00:08:30] How standardization reduces labor risk and increases construction reliability [00:10:00] Advocating from within: Sarah Francis on internal evangelism and enterprise adoption [00:11:00] Clinical and operational benefits of standardization. Quotable Moments: Sarah Francis, Enterprise Assistant Vice President, Standards & Activation-Planning, Design & Construction, Advocate Health    "People are our greatest resource. What standardization does is ensure consistency, quality, and safety for our patients and teammates by reducing variability in their work environment."  Sean Ashcroft, Healthcare Core Market Leader, DPR Construction    "This is a continuous improvement journey—each project gets more efficient as stakeholders gain experience with prefabrication."  Jeff Schroder, AVP Planning, Design and Construction, Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health    "Revenue recognition improves because prefabrication helps us get projects out of the gate faster and execute more accurately." 

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• Harnessing Prefabrication to Balance the Value Equation: Understanding the tangible benefits

  In episode 16 of Constructing with Care, we dig into how prefabrication is driving tangible financial benefits, improving safety, and accelerating speed to market for healthcare construction projects. Industry leaders join the conversation to break down the power of standardization, long-term operational savings, and the importance of reducing variation in care environments. Hear real-world examples from healthcare systems and learn how cash flows and standardizing processes can support both the bottom line and community care. Guest: Sean Ashcroft, Healthcare Core Market Leader, DPR Construction   Guest: Jeff Schroder, AVP Planning, Design and Construction, Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health   Guest: Sarah Francis - Enterprise Assistant Vice President, Standards & Activation-Planning, Design & Construction, Advocate Health   Key Takeaways [5:20] – Setting the Stage: Financial Pressures + Tech Investments Host Leslie kicks off the conversation by exploring how prefab can address rising financial pressures for healthcare systems while supporting aggressive tech investments. [6:20] – Two Big Wins from Prefab (Sean) Sean highlights the long-term flexibility and operational uptime of prefab systems, plus how prefab impacts critical path scheduling to generate revenue faster. [7:12] – Hospital Perspective: Managing Cashflow at Scale (Jeff) Jeff dives into Atrium Health’s approach to managing billions in active projects, explaining how prefab helps front-load purchases and reduce variation and risk from supply chain disruptions and tariffs. [9:17] – Standardization at the Enterprise Level (Sarah) Sarah underscores the importance of minimizing variation across builds, enabling process improvement and better data insights. Standardization is key to long-term efficiency. [10:12] – Compounding Effects of Eliminating Variation Sean expands on how standardization and prefab eliminate variation early—helping avoid rework and driving downstream time and cost savings.   Quotes Jeff Schroder, AVP Planning, Design and Construction, Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health   "Prefabrication helps us mitigate unpredictable factors like weather, labor shortages, and tariffs." Sarah Francis, Enterprise Assistant Vice President, Standards & Activation-Planning, Design & Construction, Advocate Health   "To ensure long-term efficiency we need to focus on minimizing variation, keeping a standardized approach that also allows us to measure and have data."  Sean Ashcroft, Healthcare Core Market Leader, DPR Construction   "There’s a necessity for early engagement and ensuring the whole team understands the logic behind prefabrication to avoid gaps in execution."    🎧 Don’t Miss This Episode If You’re a… Healthcare executive managing capital planning and cash flow Construction leader looking to standardize and scale faster Clinician or facilities director focused on optimizing day-to-day operations  

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• 2024 Highlights

  Join us for a special highlights episode of Constructing with Care, the podcast designed for healthcare executives navigating the complexities of capital projects. This condensed feature reel showcases key insights from past episodes, covering innovative solutions to today’s healthcare construction challenges, strategies for supporting the healthcare workforce during disruptive projects, and the vital role capital investments play in delivering effective, efficient patient care. Whether you're planning a new facility, managing a major expansion, or optimizing existing spaces, this episode offers expert perspectives to help you build with care and confidence.

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• Technology, Innovation, and Investments in Healthcare Infrastructure Ep 15 (Part 3 of 3)

  Episode Summary: In episode 15 of Constructing With Care, guests Laura Wilt, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Sutter Health; Clara Guixa, Vice President of Applications and Deputy CIO at Boston Children's Hospital; and Carl Fleming, Healthcare Strategy and Digital Transformation at DPR Construction are welcomed by host Leslie Tullio. In this third and final episode of the series the group explores how funding models for healthcare projects are shaped by technological and demographic needs and how the industry is evaluating ROI They also delve into everybody's favorite topic, AI.  Key Themes: Strategic alignment of technology investments with organizational goals. The importance of flexible funding and innovation models. AI as a transformative tool for operational efficiency and patient care. The need for healthcare facilities to evolve in tandem with technological advancements [00:33] Introduction [01:47] Investment in Healthcare Technology Laura highlights the critical role of technology in health systems' strategies, particularly for improving access and leveraging digital professionals. Clara presents a balanced view, recognizing the progress but emphasizing the work needed to achieve ROI across the industry. [05:12] Aligning Technology with Strategic Goals Clara explains Boston Children’s strategy of aligning tech investments with strategic goals, measuring outcomes, and maintaining accountability. Aligning metrics with problems being solved ensures investments deliver tangible value. [06:28] Innovative Approaches to Funding Laura discusses innovation driven by demographic shifts (e.g., aging populations) and the rise of value-based care. Carl shares insights into funding models such as venture capital, private equity, and strategic alliances. Health systems are increasingly investing in internal innovation hubs to drive long-term ROI and create scalable solutions. [11:39] Build vs. Buy vs. Adapt Laura introduces the concept of adapt as a middle ground between building and buying technology, tailoring solutions to specific needs. Clara reflects on her organization’s journey from customized EHRs to a mix of purchased and adapted solutions. The "build, buy, or adapt" approach balances efficiency, customization, and scalability. [15:55] AI in Healthcare: Opportunities and Strategies Laura explains Sutter Health’s strategy to build, buy, and adapt AI solutions, including ambient AI to improve efficiency and patient care. Clara highlights pediatric care advancements through large language models, genetic testing, and big data. AI’s potential lies in intersecting technologies (e.g., ambient AI, RTLS) to create integrated, efficient systems. [20:06] Design and Construction Implications of Emerging Technology Carl emphasizes the importance of aligning design and construction efforts with health systems’ AI strategies and innovation tolerance. Collaborative planning ensures physical spaces are optimized for integrating AI and other advanced technologies. [22:39] Closing Thoughts Leslie reflects on the interconnected nature of healthcare technology investments, ROI, and innovation. Featured Guests: Laura Wilt: Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Sutter Health Clara Guixa: Vice President of Applications and Deputy CIO at Boston Children’s Hospital Carl Fleming: Healthcare Strategy and Digital Transformation Specialist at DPR Construction   Laura Wilt  "Technology is integral to healthcare strategies, but it should never be about technology for technology's sake. It's about achieving the outcomes we're striving for."    Clara Guixa  "Funding healthcare technology isn't just about the dollars; it's about understanding the value and impact on patient outcomes."  Carl Fleming  "If technology doesn't streamline processes or add value, providers don't want it. We need to ensure tech works for them, not against them." 

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