Design your clinic with your team's culture in mind

September 4, 2018

Wayne Usiak, AIA, NCARB

Wayne Usiak, AIA, is a senior partner of Wayne Usiak and Associates/BDA Architecture P.C. The firm has completed more than 500 small-, mixed-, and large-animal practices. Among the facilities are three Veterinary Economics Hospital of the Year Award winners. Usiak is a member of the Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board.

Yes, of course, you need to talk fixtures and finishes. But this veterinary architect insists you must consider your biggest asset: the hospital staff.

Think about this: How did you become successful enough in your current building to make it possible to build a new facility or remodel? Was it your brilliant leadership and vision? That was likely part of it, but HospitalDesign360 conference speaker Wayne Usiak, AIA, says that a flourishing clinic culture is also to credit.

Your finely tuned team has evolved to know where everyone and everything is at any given moment. It buzzes along day after day doing good work-and creating goodwill with clients.

And you're about to scrap an original element-the very incubator of that culture-the building itself.

Usiak you can use

Borrowed or direct: Getting natural light deep into the veterinary clinic.

Veterinary hospital design must include people wellness.

Natural grass or synthetic grass for outdoor dog runs?

"You create this new building and things are farther apart and they're different," Usiak says. "The protocols and the deliveries change, and the relationship of your staff to clients changes and staff can get very unhappy."

Next thing you know, your business can change, and not necessarily for the better.

This is why Usiak says it's important that you share plans for the new design as they develop and get input from your staff.

"You're not going to let them decide, but you're going to let them have input so they're heard," he says.

Click the clip above for more.

You. Can. Do. This!

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