b'PROJECT DEVELOPMENTLong-term carecapital projectsTaking the first stepsBy Andrew RodriguesF or many existing long-termcomply with current design standards.help address future community needs, care operators, navigatingIn both cases, conducting an in-depthwhile also aligning with provincial capital project development orassessment of local needs and marketpriorities. Organizations with a redevelopment processes in additioncapacity is a good idea to identifycompelling vision for how their capital to providing quality resident care maygaps and inform proposed careproject will make a difference will be seem like a daunting task. Duringprograms, services, staffing levels andbest positioned to succeed. the past several years, the Ontariophysical space requirements. Consider government has committed to addingbringing in an external facilitator to Establish realistic baselines 15,000 new long-term care beds andhelp with this type of visioning andStarting off on the right foot involves upgrading 15,000 existing beds tostrategic planning. developing a strong business case meet current design standards. In Julyand setting up realistic baselines for 2020, the government announced anIt is also valuable to connect withproject costs, time and scope. As improved funding model to furtherother organizations to arrange foryou make project decisions and new accelerate the development of long- tours (in person or virtually) to assessinformation becomes available, you term care homes.different operational approachesshould continually update, refine and and care models. This helps furthervalidate your assumptions to develop Long-term care homes with well- validate your key assumptions onmore accurate forecasts. In the early defined projects that respond tospace requirements, as well as theproject stages, a thorough assessment future care and service needs, and arebenefits that can be delivered toof physical space requirements supported by robust business cases,residents and staff. For example,(scope) and intended uses will lead are poised to take advantage of theoperators may be interested into a higher degree of accuracy current environment and receive thelearning more about smallerwhen forecasting building gross necessary approvals. To help you getResident Home Areas (RHAs) thatarea and, in turn, construction cost. started and stay on track, here areaccommodate fewer residents thanA functional program is a powerful three areas you will want to consider.the Ministrys current standard of 32tool that can be used at this stage to residents. Evidence has shown thathelp avoid underestimating the space Define and align your visionsmaller groupings can help improverequirements for your envisionedSuccessful project delivery enablesquality of life, especially for residentscare programs. organizations to achieve their businesswith the most complex care needs. goals and objectives. Take the timeEstablishing these connectionsYour cost baseline should reflect upfront to clearly articulate whatenables you to gain valuablelocal market conditions and include your organization is trying to achieve,knowledge that can reduce overall risksufficient allowances for escalation and what is needed to meet thesewhen delivering your project. based on your projects anticipated goals. An organization that envisionstender and construction period. creating a campus of care with variousFinally, it is important to recognizeEscalation impacts alone can be housing options, for example, wouldthat organizations are competing on asignificantat times upward of 5% likely have different objectives andprovincial scale for capital funding. Toper yearhighlighting how critical it implementation strategies than onemake an impact, you need to clearlyis to factor this into your construction looking to redevelop its home todemonstrate how your project willand overall project budget from the 44 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Spring/Summer 2021'