03/10/2008

Building a New Hospital in Spain on Schedule and within Budget

Luis Barcia Albacar, Director General of Torrevieja Salud UTE Hospital in Torrevieja, Spain, shared his experience of building a new hospital within budget and opening on schedule in October 2006 with all services operational. Located on the east coast of Spain, the 220-bed hospital was built to accommodate a full-time population of 213,000, but also needed to be able to service the surge of summer residents and tourists, adding 475,000 to the population.

Luis Barcia Albacar; General Manager of the Hospital Torrevieja Salud, Torrevieja, Spain talked in the "Finance Session" of the Hospital Management Symposium about "Hospital financing based on business plans:
The launch planning of a hospital begins the same day its construction ends"

Spain

, the 220-bed hospital was built to accommodate a full-time population of 213,000, but also needed to be able to service the surge of summer residents and tourists, adding 475,000 to the population.

Torrevieja Salud UTE Hospital has an interesting business model. It was initiated and funded by the Valencia regional public health authority, but is privately management. Mr. Albacar said that construction, planning and adhering to budget was implemented like a corporation would build a new facility. Planning was rigorous, and encompassed both administrative and clinical workflows, IT architecture, equipment, staff recruitment, and training. Construction was tightly controlled, with a project management team involved in all aspects.