ESCONDIDO, CA – Palomar Medical Center West has faced growing costs since its inception in 2004, yet hospital officials believe the facility has been designed in a way that will positively impact the bottom line.
The hospital’s design takes the environment into account by looking at how the hospital affects its surroundings and how that environment, in turn, affects its patients.
Palomar Pomerado Health had anticipated spending $753 million on construction of the 453-bed facility, but that number has jumped to $983 million. Financing has come in part from a $496 million general obligation bond measure that was approved by voters in 2004.
A pilot program launched with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development’s Facilities Development Division to review designs in phases is set to reduce the hospital’s review time by about a year. According to Paul Coleman, an architect and deputy division chief for OSHPD, designers will soon have 90 days to submit corrections to FDD, instead of the 180 days they have now.
“We estimate that every month of delays results in about $1 million in cost escalation,” said Carrie Frederick, director of performance excellence for Palomar Pomerado Health.
According to Frederick, the hospital received a $50,000 Green Building Initiative/Planning grant from the Kresge Foundation. This was used to create a 70-member advisory board of community members, staff and others, led by national experts, to look at ways to save on energy, water and other environmental costs. The hospital has adopted a number of recommendations, like a new system for managing paper recycling, and is investigating composting.
Frederick said the hospital plans to install a high-efficiency HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) system and will use low-flow plumbing fixtures as well as a wetlands treatment system for wastewater.
“When completed, Palomar West will consume up to 14 percent less energy than allowed under California Title 24 energy standards,” said Frances Moore, senior associate for CO Architects and LEED accredited professional for Palomar West, in an article published in Healthcare Design Magazine in May 2008.
“Based on cost analysis of the design strategies included in the Palomar Medical Center West project, we expect that the hospital will save on the order of $500,000-$650,000 in energy costs and as much as $75,000-$100,000 in water costs per year,” said Moore.
Palomar is also part of The Center for Health Design’s Pebble Project, which focuses on how facility design makes a difference in the quality of care and financial performance. Anjali Joseph, director of research at The Center for Health Design, says Palomar West is “one of their lead Pebble Projects.”