The space required to accommodate parking lots and structures on a healthcare campus can be substantial. When it comes to staff parking, the space is greater than that required for his or her office. The guidelines shown below can be used for preliminary space estimates. WGI, Inc. — a parking specialty firm — cites an average size of 334 gross square feet (GSF) or 31.0 gross square meters (GSM) per parking space and a median construction cost of $27,900 USD per space (2022) based on their database of hundreds of completed parking structures.
Facility Components
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Estimating Diagnostic Imaging Space Based on the Number of Procedure Rooms
Sometimes a preliminary space estimate is needed to evaluate location alternatives, conduct a feasibility study, or develop a preliminary cost estimate for construction or renovation. Once the number of procedure rooms is determined, an estimate of the total footprint required for the diagnostic imaging suite can be made using the range of DGSF (DGSM) per procedure room shown in this post.
Reconfiguring Hospital Diagnostic Services
Planning space for diagnostic services, and assessing the need for equipment, can be complicated from many perspectives. Some equipment is becoming miniaturized, portable (even handheld), and more affordable so that it can be easily used at the patient’s bedside, in the physician’s office, or even in the patient’s home. Other equipment continues to require a large footprint, unique design features, and a big investment, and is increasingly specialized. Imaging services no longer reside within the boundaries of the “radiology department” but instead are provided in many locations throughout the healthcare enterprise — often replacing other testing modalities that once occupied their own departments. The challenge is not only to determine what equipment to purchase but where to locate it.
Factors Affecting the Size of a Surgery Suite
The hospital surgery suite has undergone revolutionary change over the past several decades. For a long time, the focus has been on shifting surgery to a lower-cost outpatient setting. This has been replaced with a focus on lowering both the costs and risks of surgery with the ongoing migration from invasive to less-invasive surgery or noninvasive procedures. Minimally-invasive, image-guided, robotic, and telesurgery ― along with intraoperative imaging techniques ― continue to replace traditional surgical procedures. Aside from the economies of scale achieved with larger surgical suites, the biggest single factor contributing to the overall footprint of the surgery suite is the size and specialization of the individual operating rooms (ORs). Other factors include the proportion of outpatient surgery performed in the suite, and the type of patient care spaces provided, as well as the efficiency of the surgical suite layout.
Estimating Capacity and Space for Obstetrical Services
The capacity of a labor and delivery suite will vary depending on whether the hospital is deploying the single-room maternity care concept exclusively — using combined labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum rooms (LDRP rooms) — or if the mother and infant are moved to a separate postpartum unit after delivery. The labor and delivery area will also typically include one to three delivery/operating rooms for C-sections and a normal newborn nursery or infant holding area. A designated admission/triage area is often provided for higher-volume services.
Estimating Surgery Space Based on the Number of Operating Rooms
Sometimes a preliminary space estimate is needed to evaluate location alternatives, conduct a feasibility study, or develop a preliminary cost estimate for construction or renovation. Once the number of operating rooms (ORs) is determined, an estimate of the total footprint required for the surgical suite can be made using the rules-of-thumb in this post.