Culture Change and Facility Design: A Model for Joint Optimization

Healthcare organizations are investing in strategies to reform a complex web of variables that impact the quality and business of care delivery. As organizations respond, they engage with a variety of partners. If, for example, there is an initiative to address new services, image, or capacity, the organization might contract separately with care delivery experts, culture-change consultants, and facility design firms.

This paper addresses the moment in time when an organization has decided to intentionally engage in either or both facility and culture change. We argue there is an intrinsic link between the physical and social environment that actively enables or constrains the effectiveness of either. Planned change is in itself a risky, unpredictable process. The joint optimization model presented here is offered as a route to optimizing the effectiveness of both facility and culture change efforts, as well as to increase the likelihood of sustained change.