By Healthcare Facilities Today

At Crozer-Keystone Health System just west of Philadelphia, achieving balance while gaining market share is the name of the game. An article in Building Operating Management magazine profiles Brian Crimmins, Crozer-Keystone's vice president of facilities planning and development, as he positions the health system to leverage community-based outpatient facilities to cater to the healthcare consumer's desire for choice and convenience.

According to BOM, the health system consists of five main hospital complexes with 40 and growing off-campus satellite facilities. Recent additions to the satellite system include four sleep centers and a cancer center. Often these facilities are housed in office buildings where Crozer-Keystone is a tenant. This adds complexities to the facilities management process, such as educating developers on Department of Health regulations their facilities have never before had to meet.

As well as presenting challenges from the regulatory side, casting a wide net into the community strains the resources of the facilities management department, BOM reports. Crimmins has a lean team, with three facilities directors over the five hospitals and satellite facilities. Whereas a couple decades ago there would have been a director each for facilities, environmental services, and safety and security, now that's the same person. 

Looking into the future, Crimmins tells BOM he sees a continuation of tuning the healthcare portfolio, trying to find the most cost-effective way to deliver the highest quality of care.

Read the full article.