The Healthcare Sector Embraces Micro-Design

Jack Bass

HOUSTON–The past five years have seen a shift in healthcare toward leaner facilities design. For example, more micro-hospitals –small-scale inpatient facilities with eight to 15 short-stay beds-are popping up these days in an industry dominated by megahospitals. Nineteen states and counting now have at least one micro-hospital.

In addition to hospital downsizing, a shift in senior living toward smaller communities is taking place, and, due to consumer demand and rampant retirement insecurity, there’s an anticipated shift toward micro-sizing individual units within assisted living facilities.

Smaller Footprint, Lasting Impression

Micro-hospitals are fully licensed hospitals that meet a need not met by urgent care centers or freestanding emergency departments, neither of which offers inpatient care. Looking to fill a niche, micro-hospitals generally offer services in accordance with community needs.