Facility Activation and Advisory Solutions

WE ACTIVATE

We enable our clients to activate smartly and realize their vision and desired business results for patient care.

 

WE TRANSFORM

We design and improve processes and efficiencies to help our clients optimize their teams and operations.

 

WE INNOVATE

We believe technology-driven tools are instrumental to provide our clients with integrated and reliable data management and analytics.

 

Keeping health care facilities modern and updated requires a near constant cycle of change. This system of modernization challenges health care organizations to deliver safe and quality patient care and keep costs low. New models of care, regulatory changes, market share and advancements with medical devices, technology, and higher efficiency building materials and systems are key drivers in transforming facilities.

OUR CAPABILITIES

  • Initial Outfitting & Transition
  • Activation Project Management
  • Facility information systems with integrated workplace management systems

We partner with our clients to design and deliver end-to-end solutions and measurable results aligned with their strategic business goals. We address organizational culture and change management to prepare the client teams to navigate their maze effectively. We deploy easy to understand and use processes and tools to provide integrated and reliable data management and analytics. We work with a cadre of cross-trained medical facilities experts, certified project managers, and health care operational staff to successfully address client needs.

Activation of a new or renovated medical facility requires extensive organization and planning, including critical path management of activation milestones and construction completion for building turnover. Atlas knows that the key to meeting activation goals is to carefully coordinate and integrate planning across “hard” activation (physical space, equipment, systems, furniture, fixtures, and IT) and “soft” activation (people, concept of operations (CONOPS), policies/procedures, clinical informatics, and training). Our Facility Activation Team has deep capabilities and a strong reputation for helping clients manage successful activation of medical facilities on time, scope, and budget.

First, we identify all locations where enterprise data resides to arrive at a common or shared “definition of the truth.” Next, our modeling highlights the nature, scope, and structure of as-is and to-be data and translates these into requirements, specification documents, roadmaps, and prototypes to ensure an interoperable and robust outcome.

Atlas Facility Activation Capabilities

Initial Outfitting & Transition
(IO&T)

  • Furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) planning, procurement, standardization, and reuse
  • Low voltage IT/medical systems planning, design, and implementation
  • FF&E delivery, storage/warehouse management, installation through operational acceptance
  • Move planning, relocation management, and physical readiness
  • Transition planning and operational readiness for staffing, policies/procedures, quality, and clinical informatics
  • Day-in-the-life simulations and staff training

Activation Project Management

  • Project planning (Master Activation Plan) to address project complexity and business continuity
  • Integrated activation readiness management from planning to building turnover to activation for first patient/Day 1 operations
  • Activation information management system for daily status tracking and dynamic reporting with Atlas Facility Activation System (AFACTS)
  • Integrated master schedule for construction and activation activities and milestones
  • Facilitation and action items management for Integrated Project Teams (IPTs)

Facility Advisory Solutions

  • Capital projects and design/construction solutions
  • Qualitative data analytics for capacity, utilization, and efficiency studies
  • Workflows mapping for optimal operations
  • Functional assessments and space verification of existing medical facilities
  • Facility information systems with integrated workplace management systems for space and move management, asset and inventory management, compliance management, and environment of care management

Recent Projects

Replacement Medical Center Activation For Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System
Client: Department of Veterans Affairs

Atlas Research is managing the activation of the new 1.6 million square foot medical center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Atlas provided pre-planning, planning, and implementation support for initial outfitting, transition, and activation tasks and priorities for the client’s program management office (PMO) across four pillars of activation covering physical, service, quality/regulatory, and integrated project team readiness. Our health facility activation experts incorporated project management best practices for a sound risk-based approach to ensure readiness of physical space and operational readiness. We completed Phase 1 Outpatient and Phase 2 Inpatient Services to activate multiple buildings for clinical, ancillary, administrative and support services. Phase 3 (increasing procedural complexity) and Phase 4 (Research facility) are on track to be complete in 2018.

READ MORE

These practices include an activation integrated master schedule with forecasting dashboards to identify risks and an activation project information management system based on real-time data updates for transparent status and strategic communications for each service/clinical area. Our forecast-based analytics enabled earlier activation ability for key clinical services to meet changing priorities in response to external and internal project factors. Our risk-based acquisition decision-making framework allows us to continuously track, assess, and identify progress, areas of concern, barriers, and impact to the mission objectives for the new $1B medical center.

Atlas coordinated with over 65 services/clinical programs daily/weekly to track and report on progress, barriers, and risks. Atlas supported the PMO in the management and tracking of the expedited hiring of 1,100 activation funded staff; development of more than 850 procurement packages; delivery and installation of more than 40,000 pieces of medical equipment and 30,000 pieces of furniture; development of more than 500 policies/procedures governing the operation of the new medical campus; building of more than 400 medical informatics systems and templates; and captured and tracked employee training and simulation requirements for 35 services/clinical programs.

Replacement Medical Center Activation For Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Client: Department of Veterans Affairs

Atlas Research is managing the activation of the new 1.2 million square foot Rocky Mountain Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. Atlas supports and facilitates activation tasks and priorities with more than 60 services/clinical programs, and tracks and reports regularly on progress, barriers, and risks for the new $2B medical center. As external experts, Atlas health facility activation experts supported the Project Eagle Activation team providing expertise to enable successful activations. We identified and addressed critical disconnects and schedule impacts. Through best practice recommendations, Atlas helped drive the integrated master schedule key milestones and order of activities and assessed earlier activation ability for key clinical services to meet changing priorities in response to external and internal project factors.

READ MORE

Atlas Research provides full-time, subject matter expertise to VA, filling identified gaps in the following domains: activation staffing, low voltage/IT integration, transition and activation, non-medical acquisitions, and medical equipment planning. Atlas evaluates the IO&T contractor and VA’s plans, schedules, and procurement packages and provides VA with quality analysis and recommendations/guidelines for issues and risk mitigation, thus, keeping the project on track and supporting excellent stewardship of time, resources, and budget. The reports that Atlas creates to track the project are reviewed by the entire activation team and VA Medical Center leadership weekly to ensure that all tasks and milestones are on track and to monitor current risks and identify emerging risks for mediation.

Atlas supported expedited hiring of over 400 activation funded staff, conducted quality audits of more than 600 procurement packages through award completion; supported delivery and installation of more than 40,000 pieces of medical equipment; supported development of all required policies and standard operating procedures governing the operation of the new medical campus; and identified and tracked employee training requirements for more than 60 services/clinical programs. We provided specialized expertise for low voltage/IT integration planning for more than 200 systems and conducted room-by-room assessment of every area in new facility to ensure that all FF&E will work with the space.

Ambulatory Care Clinic Addition Initial Outfitting, Transition, And Activation For Nebraska/Iowa Health Care System
Client: Department of Veterans Affairs

Atlas Research is managing the activation of a new 163,000 square foot addition in Omaha, Nebraska. This state-of-the-art facility will support ambulatory surgery, PACT clinical care, lobby, police service, radiology, and reception spaces on the existing campus. This new building will allow expansion of the ambulatory surgery portion of the operating rooms and provide multiple outpatient clinics.

Atlas is providing comprehensive project management support, master scheduling, project SharePoint development and management, transition planning, and operational readiness planning for this project. The projected Day 1 for this $86 million addition is January 2020.

Replacement Ocala Community-Based Outpatient Clinic Initial Outfitting, Transition And Activation For North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System
Client: Department of Veterans Affairs

Atlas Research is managing the activation of this new 45,000 square foot facility in Ocala, Florida. The new facility will replace two existing facilities located in Marion County, and consolidate Primary Care, Mental Health and Specialty Care into one facility.

Atlas is providing comprehensive project management support, master scheduling, project SharePoint development and management, transition planning, and operational readiness planning for this project. The projected Day 1 will take place in 2023.