Hospital Development Company, Simone Talks About Popular Healthcare Architecture Trends: Micro-Hospitals

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Apr 12, 2019, 05:00 ET

BRONX, N.Y., April 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to help healthcare providers understand how they can best serve the new and emerging needs of their respective markets, hospital development company, Simone Development, discusses the industry trend of Micro-Hospitals.

What are Micro-Hospitals?
Micro-Hospitals are comparable to community hospitals, offering core services such as emergency care, in-patient pharmacy, lab, and surgical services; however, they are typically a fraction of the size with fewer in-patient beds than a standard community hospital. They are typically privately owned, and many are developed as joint-venture partnerships.

While no two Micro-Hospitals are the same, there is a common thread between all of them. Micro-Hospitals bring hospital services closer to home than larger community hospitals. As the patient continues to search for closer and more personal options for their health, hospitals will need to rise to meet the demand for more intimate healthcare, typically in a smaller and less intimidating setting.

What are the key trends of Micro-Hospitals?

Location. One of the biggest contributing factors to the surge of Micro-Hospitals is the concept of offering more locations closer to home for patients. If there is one hospital serving the community, then there is a small percentage of people who live within a manageable distance to that hospital or care facility. Since transportation to and from visits is a major concern for many seeking healthcare, the most patient-centric approach is to offer more care facilities that are spread more evenly throughout the community, especially in rural areas.
Public Transportation. Continuing on the patient-centric approach, ensuring that there are reliable and plentiful public transportation options to commute to your facility is key. According to the American Public Transportation Association, public transportation ridership has increased by 30% since 1995, so it is crucial to consider access to public transportation when building and developing your Micro-Hospital.
Access to Nature. For years, healthcare providers have known about the therapeutic benefits of outdoor environments on patient health and healing, but with financial and geographical limits shouldered by larger community hospitals, there has been very little room to include these outdoor spaces in hospital design. With Micro-Hospitals, this is not the case. These smaller facilities can easily be placed in locations with access to nature and their own private, park-inspired outdoor spaces. These outdoor spaces not only provide a positive space for healing, but they help to combat any negative assumptions or fears that patients may experience when entering a health care facility and demonstrates that a stay in the hospital does not have to also be unpleasant.
Large Open Floor Plans. Large, airy, open-flow floorplans help to make smaller Micro-Hospital facilities feel larger than they actually are, and that openness helps patients to feel more comfortable and at-home rather than confined and nervous about any health concerns. Including large windows which showcase relaxing outdoor spaces can also help to create a more comforting environment for patients.
Scalable Rooms. With patient-centricity in mind, Micro-Hospitals are changing the game on in-patient rooms. Designing in-patient rooms to be more scalable, allowing for growth to accommodate visiting family and guests, can help to make Micro-Hospitals the less-intimidating and more comfortable option of in-patient care. If an extended stay in a Micro-Hospital is needed, patients will feel more at ease knowing that there is room for their loved ones to visit and spend time with them, and loved ones will look to the Micro-Hospital with positivity knowing that their needs were met and the needs and comfort of the patient were the top consideration.

About Simone Health Development Companies:
Simone Health Development Companies is a full-service real estate investment company specializing in the acquisition and development of office, retail, industrial and healthcare properties in the New York tristate area. Headquartered in the Bronx, the privately held company owns and manages more than 5 million square feet of property in the Bronx, Westchester County, Queens, Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The company's portfolio includes more than 100 properties and ranges from multi-building office parks to retail and industrial space. The largest and most successful development from Simone Health is the 42-acre Hutchinson Metro Center office complex located directly off the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. The first two phases of the complex, which comprise nearly 750,000 square feet of Class A office and medical space, are fully leased. Two additional phases totaling 650,000 square feet (370,000-square-foot Metro Center Atrium and 280,000-square-foot Tower Two), are completed and fully leased.