Prakash Chandran (Host): The future of healthcare is coming to our campus. This summer marks the beginning of an ambitious project that will revolutionize the way we deliver medical services to our community. Joining us today to discuss construction updates is Jake Davidson. He's the Chief Operating Officer at Jefferson Healthcare. This is To Your Health, a podcast brought to you by Jefferson Healthcare. My name is Prakash Chandran. Jake, thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate your time. So before we get started with the update, I think it's helpful to just recap why we got started with the Campus Modernization Project in the first place.

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. So the big reason why, is the building that we are deconstructing was built in 1965. And so based on that, it is seismic, electrical and mechanically deficient and really has outlived its useful life. And rather than retrofitting it, we've decided that it is imperative to tip it over and to build new. And the key piece about this building is that it houses a lot of mission critical services, like our Express Clinic, our MRI for diagnostics, our OBGYN clinic and our cafeteria. And so after we did a real careful analysis, we decided that, that was the best practical way. And so we are going to in its place, build a new building that houses all of those services and more, which we're really excited about.

Host: Yeah, I can imagine that something, you know, built that long ago, there's just so much that has evolved and changed with technology, with code and everything like that. So very much looking forward to this new building. Tell me when exactly is the construction slated to begin?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Construction right now is slated to begin end of summer, so about September of 2023.

Host: Okay, so obviously there's a lot to be done. I am curious if Jefferson plans to maintain its clinical services during the construction.

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, absolutely. So we will absolutely keep all of our clinical services active during construction. And a key piece of this is that the 1965 building, which will be coming down, is basically the backbone of our campus. It sits in between our emergency department and our inpatient and OR building, which will both have to be operational 24/7.

It also houses our Express Clinic, which we'll be moving to a different clinic site. Our OBGYN clinic, which will be moving to a different clinic site. We'll have to bring in an MRI trailer to continue to provide MRI services and our dietary team. So we will actually be rebuilding the fairgrounds kitchen, and our dietary team will be working out of the fairgrounds kitchen to provide meals for our patients and our staff.

Host: Yeah, it's very clear that so much thought and planning went into this, and I know there's going to be a lot of things in transition, like parking, like these temporary facilities. One thing that might be helpful to answer for people is around the quality of care. Is Jefferson Healthcare thinking about maintaining that standard that they're known for during this transitional period?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Absolutely, we will not drop the quality of care. It'll make it a little bit harder, but we will do everything in our power, communication wise to ensure that patients know where they're going before they, they need to come to our campus. As far as parking, that's another big priority. The lay down lot will not affect any parking. And all of the construction teams will be parking there, so it won't affect any of our patient parking either.

Host: Okay, so you know, beyond the need to just update and rejuvenate the building with this new one, one of the things that I've heard is that there's just been a lot of growth when it comes to Jefferson Healthcare and the patient population. What do you feel like that is attributed to?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, absolutely. I think, the community has truly looked to Jefferson to provide healthcare for East Jefferson. And we continue to need to grow our primary care areas, but what we're focused on with this building is growing our specialty services and truly meeting the needs of our patients. Unfortunately, a lot of the patients that need these specialty services either have to travel an hour each way to get them or they don't get them. And so we're really committed to providing that care locally at a high quality for our patients.

Host: So you were mentioning that construction is slated to start later this year. How long, and I know construction always goes longer and always costs more, but how long is it anticipated to take?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, right now we are slated for construction to complete in about 70 weeks. So we're looking, uh, Q1 of 2025, so potentially January of 2025 completing this project. So under two years from now.

Host: Oh wow, that is incredible. And what can you share with our audience around its cost?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I will share that the cost of healthcare grade construction has gone up. You know, when we built the ESSB in 2017, it was completed, it's about half or double now what that building costs. And so we're looking at, uh, just over a thousand dollars a square foot. And so it's about a 55,000 square foot building right now. Our construction is in the mid 50 million just on the construction side of the building.

Host: Okay. And just in terms of transition periods, like what can the patient population or people visiting Jefferson expect in terms of key transition points?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, absolutely. We will be very transparent both on our website and via all different avenues as we start to transition our clinics to different areas. Some of it will be having patients come to a different entry point into the hospital to make it closer and easier to get them where they need to go. And some of it will be going to a different clinic site that is within about a block from the campus, like the Express Clinic or OBGYN clinics. And so patients can expect that we will be very open, transparent and guide them to where they need to go.

Host: Got it. And in that same way, are you going to, when you open in 2025, do so in a staged way where some floors or some services will be available sooner than others, or is it going to be all at once?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, no, the plan will be full go live. And so, there will be a new entrance that is on the seventh Street. And, again, I think as we get closer, there'll be a lot more communication about you know, if you're getting this service, here's where you should enter. And that was a big focus of the building actually was having basically two corridors to make patient wayfinding easier for our patients. And we're really excited about that. But yeah, more communication as we get closer to the opening in 2025 as far as how to access care the easiest. And there will be new parking, and so that'll be a key piece of it as well.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. So if someone is listening to this and they just want to stay up to date on construction updates and anything else that you have to share with our audience regarding this new construction, where should they go?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, our website is going to be the best spot, so jeffersonhealthcare.org. And we have a page dedicated just to this construction project. We also are committed to doing these podcasts quarterly. So we will provide more information via the podcast as well. But the website's the best and easiest way to get information on the building.

Host: Okay, great. Thank you so much for your time today, Jake. I really appreciate it. Is there anything else you want to leave with our audience?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: No, I think, for us it's really exciting to provide care locally and so providing radiation therapy for oncology patients, a state-of-the-art MRI experience, new dining and dietary and then more clinic space. So adding services like ENT, pulmonology, neurology and growing dermatology, we're really excited about providing those services for our community and growing the top-notch healthcare that we have here at Jefferson Healthcare.

Host: Yeah. And I guess just one more question. As you introduce these new disciplines and new specialties, how are you thinking about hiring ahead of the opening?

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yeah, absolutely. So for the physicians and some of those we are actually already starting to recruit. So, we're trying to predict what is the lead time to hire some of those physicians is a key piece for us. And yeah, I mean, we're starting some of that recruitment now.

Host: Awesome. So I guess what everyone can expect is that, you know, come time to open, you're going to be staffed for all of those new specialties and just ready to welcome patients with the quality and care that you can expect from Jefferson Healthcare.

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Yep. Exactly.

Host: Well, fantastic, Jake. Thanks again for your time.

Jake Davidson MHA, FACHE: Hey, thank you so much. Take care.

Host: Thanks everyone for listening. That was Jake Davidson. He's the Chief Operating Officer at Jefferson Healthcare. For more information about hospital construction, you can visit jeffersonhealthcare.org/quarterly. If you found this podcast to be helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. This has been To Your Health, a podcast by Jefferson Healthcare. I'm Prakash Chandran, and until next time, stay well.