Designing for Change: Patient Room Flexibility
Future-ready patient rooms start with early adoption of prefabricated wall systems
Contributors: Mike Labukas, Scott McLean, Tony LaCroix-Dalluhn, Jennifer Klund, Bill O’Neill
Read time: 1 min
Video Summary:
Future-ready healthcare facilities must be built to adapt, especially as system priorities evolve, new technology emerges and patient needs shift - sometimes at a pace faster than traditional facilities can keep up. This video highlights how early planning, flexible systems, and modular approaches help organizations respond to change, reduce long-term risk, and get more value from every capital investment.
Key Takeaways
- Building for flexibility is a strategic decision, not a design feature
- Every facility change carries an operation cost in downtime, disruption, and lost capacity
- Your biggest risk is planning for facility flexibility too late
Patient rooms are among the most frequently changed spaces in a hospital, yet they are often built in ways that make change slow, disruptive, and costly. In active care environments, even minor modifications can trigger room shutdowns, infection‑control protocols, workflow disruption, and lost capacity. While flexible building components may raise first‑cost concerns, the long-term payoff is clear.
At Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Allina Health has used this approach across multiple phases of campus development, from earlier renovations to the new Richard M. Schulze Surgical and Critical Care Center. By planning for adaptability early, teams can reconfigure or upgrade rooms in hours instead of days or weeks, reducing disruption and limiting the operational impact of change over the facility’s lifecycle.
In this Video:
- Tony LaCroix-Dalluhn, Vice President of Operations | Allina Health
- Jennifer Klund, AIA, ACHA, Healthcare Principal and Vice President| HGA
- Bill O’Neill, Territory Manager | DIRTT Environmental Solutions
- Scott McLean, Senior Project Manager | Mortenson
