Top 5 States for Hospital Construction in 2016

As the U.S. economy continues its steady recovery, so too will the hospital construction industry continue to see gains. There are a number of factors that are contributing to fluctuations in the industry, including the Affordable Care Act, availability of private hospital financing and a rise in the need for outpatient clinics and long-term care facilities.

While these overall growth indications are applicable across the country, there are some states that are seeing more consistent growth and opportunity in the healthcare construction sector.

Florida

It may come as no surprise that Florida has one of the strongest healthcare construction industries in the U.S. After all, the population of adults 65 and older is expected to reach 4,465,169, or more than 20% of the state’s total population by 2020.

As a result, big healthcare projects are the norm in the Sunshine State, and the best ones have earned accolades. For instance, the Florida Hospital Tampa Emergency Department Relocation was honored with an Award of Merit from the Engineering News-Record in 2015.

New York

In New York, Principal and Healthcare Design Director for HOK Architects Henry Chao indicated that though large projects once dominated the scene, the ACA is likely one factor that is influencing the increase in outpatient and retail healthcare projects.

However, that doesn’t mean New York is lacking for big projects. An expansion of the Tisch Hospital, an acute care facility to act as part of the NYU Langone Medical Center, tops a recent list of biggest hospital construction projects in the country. The expansion, which is expected to open in 2017, has a budget of $2 billion and is planned to measure 800,000 square feet.

California

With a population that includes approximately 12% of all people in the U.S., it’s no surprise that California appears on this list of top states for healthcare construction.

Major projects in California including the CPMC Van Ness & Geary Campus Hospital in San Francisco, the Loma Linda University Medical Center, the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and the Kaiser Permanente Central Hospital in San Diego, all of which have budgets at or above the $1 billion mark.

Texas

In another triumph for sheer population, Texas is another huge state for, well, basically everything but that includes hospital construction. Both the John Peter Smith Hospital expansion, which will add 157 beds at a cost of nearly $600 million and the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center project, which will add 160 beds and more than 1 million square feet at a cost of $650 million are among the notable projects in progress.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania may not have quite the population of places like New York City or the concentration of aging baby boomers like Florida, but it does have the second largest active hospital construction project with its $1.5 billion expansion of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. The renovation will add 700 new beds -- but no new square footage -- and is expected to open in March of 2017.

For a full listing of the top 50 healthcare construction projects in the U.S., be sure to check out this article from Healthcare Finance News.

The healthcare construction industry is experiencing a resurgence and will likely continue to grow over the next decade. Though we only address 5 key states in this particular post, big projects are planned around the country. Contractors who make their living in the healthcare industry would be wise to keep in mind how the industry will continue to shift. For more details, download our presentation below.