Category Archives: Medical Office Space

Protective Measures Offices Can Implement to Prevent COVID-19 Transmission

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prevent COVID-19 transmissionWe live in an age where a global pandemic is quickly spreading between people wherever they go. Since life has to go on and some people have to keep going to work in their offices, it is important to know how you can protect yourself and those around you from the dangerous virus. Offices often have numerous employees working side by side in teams or individually to keep their establishment running smoothly and making profits. Here are some protective measures your office can implement in order to prevent COVID-19 transmission and ensure everyone is safe.

Wear Masks

Masks have been proven to be one of the best ways to avoid transmission of COVID-19. Make sure  that when your employees are moving around the office that they are wearing masks. It is a very simple and effective way to keep them safe.

Encourage Hand Washing

One of the main things you should really focus on in your office to protect everyone against COVID-19 is encouraging your employees to wash their hands regularly. All the global health organizations are swearing by the effects of regular hand washing for at least 20 seconds each time to remove all kinds of harmful viruses and bacteria effectively. Regular hand washing will greatly minimize the risk of infection and help keep everyone safe in case someone is infected with the virus but is not showing any symptoms. Make sure you raise awareness of the importance of handwashing and personal hygiene in the office and hang signs everywhere to remind your employees to wash their hands so that everyone stays safe in their work environment.

Clean All Surfaces

Offices often have numerous employees going back and forth from one desk to another and touching different surfaces as they go. Keeping your surfaces regularly cleaned and disinfected is essential when it comes to protecting everyone working in the office. Make sure you use proper cleaning products to clean all the surfaces in the office, from desks to floors, and even walls and mirrors. As seen on HealthySole, you can even invest in new gadgets that are made to facilitate the process of cleaning surfaces automatically, or even cleaning shoes when people are on their way in or out of any room so that the risk of virus spreading is greatly reduced. Anything that can be touched by any of the employees in your office is something that should be disinfected on a regular basis to reduce the risk of COVID spreading.

Install Disinfection Booths

Many of those who get infected by the COVID-19 virus do not show symptoms until after a few days or may not show any symptoms at all, yet they can still be spreading the virus everywhere they go. To reduce the risk of your employees infecting one another when they walk into the office, it can be a good idea to invest in a disinfection booth on the door of your office to remove any lodging bacteria or viruses on people’s clothes and faces before they enter the workplace. It can also be a good idea to have someone measure people’s temperatures with a digital thermometer before they walk into the office to ensure nobody is infected without realizing they actually are.

Keep Employees Distant From One Another

When it comes to protecting your employees from COVID-19 transmission in the workplace, one of the most effective measures to implement is social distancing. You need to make sure all your employees are standing or sitting at a safe distance from one another to reduce the risk of the virus spreading, and ensure everyone is safe while working. You can start by making some space between each desk in the office and reducing the number of employees you have by giving them alternate shifts so that they can all keep their jobs but stay safe at the same time. It can also be a good idea to have some of your employees work from home whenever possible and start a virtual office environment rather than risk everyone’s safety. This way, you will be saving your employees from all the hassle of having to come to the office every day and reducing the risk of transmitting the virus. If your employees have to go to the office, then make sure they are distant from one another and wearing face masks at all times.

Implement an Agile Workplace

An Agile Workplace concept is an activity-based work space that makes the work space flexible. It is an office hoteling reservation technique or set up in a workplace. It is a way of utilizing a work area more efficiently, utilizing non-assigned seating arrangement and desk-sharing to maximize and creating collaborative spaces. Employees who don’t need to be in the office daily can make reservations to come in when they or you need them to do so. This way will limit the number of employees in the office at any one time and therefor reduce the risk to those employees wh are in the office.

A Scary Time for Employees

Living and working through a pandemic can be pretty scary. In order to keep yourself and all your employees safe in the workplace, you need to make sure you are following all the basic protective measures to prevent COVID-19 transmission by reducing the risk of infection and ensure the work keeps running smoothly. Make sure you raise the awareness of your employees about all the safety procedures they need to take to stay safe against the virus. It can also be a good idea to put some effort into creating a virtual office space where your employees can work from home and nobody has to risk their health in the first place.

If you are looking for a professional to discuss your office space options, we’d be happy to talk with you. Use our contact form to have one of our local pros get in touch with you, even if it is just to discuss options. We know office space and can help you identify what would work best for your company.

 

Coworking Medical Office Space: A New Twist on an Old Model

Medical office spaceMedicine is no stranger to the concept of coworking. For many years, it has not been at all unusual to find different medical practices renting space within the same building, at about 2,000 square-feet and a long-term lease apiece. However, according to a recent report from National Real Estate Investor, there’s a new twist to sharing medical office space: Renting just one office, for just the days or hours it’s needed or coworking medical office space.

The downside to the traditional idea of renting a large space for a long period of time, the article notes, is that many practices had to commit to more space than they needed or could afford, and hope to attract another practice to move into that extra space and help with the bills, or else be forced to fit into someone else’s extra space. With the new model, a tenant signs up for just one exam room or a few rooms, for however many days or even hours a week that the room is needed. The space is often made available through an access card that only works for those specific hours or days. The tenant is charged a weekly rent based on the time they’ve signed up for and the lease can be canceled within a relatively short period of time.

While the situation may not be ideal for every doctor or every practice, the report notes, many young doctors and up-and-coming practices are finding this trend to be a good way to save the money and time spent on paying for and maintaining a large space, thus spending those efforts on building clientele and making a profit. The model works for investors too, as more medical professionals seek the flexibility and other benefits provided through timeshare and coworking spaces.

Would you like to know more about coworking medical office space for rent? It’s a subject we love to talk about! Contact us.

Avoid 5 Common Mistakes When Leasing Medical Office Space

Medical Office SpaceLeasing medical office space has the potential to grow your practice, but also some pitfalls. Although it is difficult to define “right” since each business has different needs, there is a common thread that points to success as well as failure. Do you know how to avoid mistakes when leasing medical office space for your practice? Do you know what the five most common mistakes are?

  1. Out-of-the-way location. You may find the office space advertised as a “gem in the rough” or “situated in an up-and-coming neighborhood.” If your office is located in a place where consumers would not usually go, you miss the walk-in business. Depending on your kind of practice, this can be problematic.
  2. Too many competitors nearby. The other side of the coin is a space in a medical office complex or building where you have plenty of competition that consists of professionals practicing your specialty. The trick here is to find complementary disciplines, not identical ones.
  3. Extensive build-outs. The building management company expects that you need to do some work on your space so it suits your specialized needs. You, too, understand that some changes to the space need to be made. Negotiating a build-out allowance therefore makes sense. Problems arise when the scope of the build-outs is far more extensive than you had anticipated. When the work eclipses your budget and your schedule, you lose money before even opening your practice.
  4. Signage restrictions. You need building signage to let patients know where you are. When a management company has restrictive rules on the types of signs that you are allowed to use, it may hamper your ability to position your brand at the new location.
  5. Biting off more than you can chew. Although you and your office manager are good at what you do, remember that adding the load of negotiating the treacherous waters of finding the right new office space might be more than both of you can handle. Enlisting the help of a professional tenant representative is a good idea.

To avoid these mistakes when leasing your next medical office space, contact us today to learn more about the difference that a seasoned office-leasing broker makes during this time.

6 Reasons Renting Medical Office Space May be Better Than Buying

Medical office spaceFor many reasons, renting medical office space for your practice may be more practical and profitable than purchasing a building to house your practice. Both processes can be time-consuming and stressful, here are 6 reasons you may want to rent vs. buy medical office space for your practice.

  1. Lower Costs – If you can find an existing space with the layout you need for a medical practice, then less capital will be needed to convert the space to fit your needs.
  2. Landlord support – Renting medical office space often means that the landlord will provide some financial support to convert the property, particularly if your lease is long-term and they know that income will be generated for years to come. Maintenance and repairs are often negotiable as well.
  3. Speed-to-market – Renting vs. buying means that you will save time along with money because there will most likely be shorter construction times for upgrades than a full remodel.
  4. Cash flow – Renting eliminates the large cash expenditure required to purchase a building and frees capital to be used in other areas of your practice.You may be able to generate more income from your practice by investing the down payment you would have had to pay. Depending on your practice and the opportunities you have to invest, the return on investment may be higher than what you could achieve investing in purchasing you own medical office space.
  5. Flexibility – Should your practice expand and outgrow your current building, it is easier to move on to larger offices and visa versa.
  6. Time – as a medical practitioner, your workload is often full. Adding owner and property manager to your tasks can impact the time you devote to your practice.

Once you have made the decision to lease, you need an experienced professional to help you pick a prime location for your practice. Please contact us for more information on  medical office space.

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Pediatric Office Space Design Made Simple

While this subject is a little different than the office space design posts we have done in the past, I hope you find it of interest.

Though many little ones fear the doc, there are many office space design choices that you can use to warm their little hearts and make them feel ten times more comfortable during their visits. Though most physicians don’t have the time or the means to turn their office into a replica of the latest Pixar movie, there are simple ways to give your office that feeling of wonder and whimsy that can make any child forget his or her fears, and feel like the doctor is sometimes kind of a place for,…well,..fun.

The Color Pallet

ChanceColor Pallets are, your local home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowes has done the work for you when it comes to choosing a color scheme. Simply give the office space you plan to use a once over. There will typically be a base color in the carpeting or wall paper you will see like grey or tan.

Simply find a color card that matches that base color and take it to your local home improvement store. There will likely already be a child-like and whimsical color scheme worked out in a paint pallet brochure that coordinates perfectly with that base color. Choose one or several of the colors on that brochure, (depending on how much work you feel like doing or hiring someone else to do), and create a few accent walls. There is no need to paint your whole space.

Comfortable Furniture Options

Though every medical waiting room needs standard chairs and magazine tables etc., it’s a great idea to have a few couches and basic lazy-boy type chairs in your waiting room for kids to cuddle up in with a good book or magazine. Having a few cozy furniture pieces in your office will instantly make kids feel more comfortable.

Make-Believe Toy Area

One of the most exciting things about being a child is that your imagination works in an amazing way. Though most toys are interesting to children, when you activate a child’s imagination with the type of toys that they can use to act out characters, (like capes, pretend crowns, pretend tool belts, pretend kitchens and food etc.), you will help your little patients forget where they actually are. After all, make-believe is really the top game that kids play, when you really think about it.

Murals & Fatheads

Though you could invest in tons of expensive and/or miscellaneous decor items to create your office theme, one large, well-placed mural or a few large Fathead wall stickers, can completely give your space the theme you’re looking for.

With all the Disney and children’s movie and TV characters out there, it would be way too expensive and tedious to try to include every one of your patients’ favorite characters in your office theme. However, there are generic themed Fathead stickers that appeal to all kids; and for a more powerful and realistic effect, you can consider one of Fathead’s business or total coverage solutions.

Alternately, you can hire a professional artist to paint 1-3 large murals in your office to create the same effect in your space. Oddly enough, this might even be a less expensive idea, if you find an artist or college student that really needs the money through Craigslist or a similar site.

Take Home Toys

In addition to your pediatric office space design, you can do other things to distinguish your office visits in a pleasant way for kids. Instead of only giving away stickers or lollipops, why not give kids a choice of stickers, lollipops and small safe toys. There are many teacher supply magazines like Oriental Trading where you can buy many cool and interesting doctor’s visit favors for your patients.

Let us take the guesswork out of your search for a new medical office. Contact us today to find the perfect space for your office, in a prime community location.

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A Prescription for Leasing Medical Office Space

Medical office spaceSelecting the right space to site a medical office is more than just knowing where to plug in the MRI. Today’s medical facility offers so much more than the traditional doctors’ office. With careful forethought, medical professionals can use the size and shape of their office space to enhance productivity and patient satisfaction in their current practice, as well as provide the foundation for their future growth and evolution.

 Prioritize Technology:

Growth in medical and computer science has triggered a sea-change in the design and use of medical office space. Computers now interface with patients, labs, pharmacies and other related providers, which dictates that the medical office also be technologically advanced. “Remote” access to physicians and other medical personnel requires not just clarity of voice and visuals, but also bulletproof security to maintain confidentiality requirements. The need for privacy has also created technological solutions to ensure accurate, reliable and protected records management.

Contemplate Future Practice Development:

On-site labs speed diagnosis delivery and may also provide a separate revenue stream. Interaction with other professionals for diagnoses, collaboration or research is often a stepping stone to innovative therapy development; keeping easy access to those resources may be crucial to patient survival or practice growth. Adding surgical suites, therapy spaces or educational classrooms may be next steps as the medical practice evolves.

Consider a Landlord as a Contractor:

Each of these potential practice aspects should be considered when determining where to establish a base medical facility. At the same time, management of the physical office is also paramount. If purchasing a site is an option, consideration should be made of the energy and cost necessary to manage it. If leasing medical office space is preferred, a landlord can act almost as a contractor for the medical provider. Potentially, a landlord can agree to provide essential property management services that would be designed to ensure the integrity of the practice. This option allows medical personnel to leave facility management concerns with those professionals and keep their focus on the medical practice, where it belongs.

Finding and leasing appropriate medical office space calls for knowledgeable, discerning real estate agents. Contact us to discuss how we can get your medical office facility set up for now and the future.

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Medical Office Space Design to Allow for Growth

Medical office space with stethascopeAs your medical practice grows you need medical office space space that will allow you to grow as needed. You want a space that will facilitate expansion; a space that will help you to feel empowered to grow, to develop your practice and all that you have to offer. Finding and leasing medical office space that fits your needs gives you all of the above.

Depending on the medical office space design needs you can find a space that is perfect for you and your practice. There is a medical office to lease that is available to meet all of your needs. With a little help, you will be able to find a space that will encourage you to expand and grow.

Sometimes you just need a little more space in order to achieve greatness, and we are here to give you that space. When you have the right amount of space available to you, when you have room to grow and breathe, you will find that expansion is easier to achieve than it once was. The correct medical office space design will be set up in a way that encourages you to move on to bigger and better things. Professional real estate brokers, who specialize in medical office space, understand what needs to be done to ensure you can grow unhindered. We are here to help you as you grow by offering you options for leasing medical office space.

If you would like to find out more about how you can grow through the help of a good medical office space design, simply contact us today and we will give you the information and support that you need.

Please contact us for more information on  medical office space.

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Tech Trends Affecting Minimalistic Medical Office Space Design

Medical Space Tech TrendsMedical office space design may seem bound by traditional concepts, a waiting room, reception area, exam rooms and offices, but the future holds more for these antiquated arenas than one might imagine.

Let’s take a look at how some tech trends will affect new design concepts for future physicians and help to reduce medical office space square footage requirements:

On Your Feet

Doctors and designers are recognizing the health risks of some staff being stuck behind a desk all day and offering a practical solution, standing desks. With a wall-mounted adjustable monitor, the computer screen is easily raised and lowered to accommodate, sitting, standing, even kneeling in the workspace.

Changing these positions throughout the day helps increase both circulation and productivity, there are even options that come with a treadmill. These adjustable workstations take up less space than a traditional seated desk area.

The Growth of Handheld Devices

Similar to smartphones, tablets and laptops, diagnostic equipment is also shrinking in size while growing in productivity. For example, in the medical profession, newer high-quality ultrasound devices can be carried in one hand or fit into a pocket, while in dental offices, handheld x-ray machines will be carried from room to room. This will decrease the space necessary for larger examination rooms without the older, bulkier equipment.

Talking Rooms and mHealth

The explosion of mHealth (Mobile Health Devices) will reduce the number of face-to-face doctor visits as more people are using this online option for their healthcare needs. This increase in internet-based medicine will also decrease the number of exam rooms necessary. They will be replaced with “talking rooms” devoid of equipment and further lessen square footage.

If you’re looking for a new, more modern medical office space for your practice, please contact us. We’ll be happy to help you find just the right type of space that will meet your needs both in form and function.

Medical office space: The emergence and effects of master leases

Medical office spaceIf you’ve been looking for medical office space, then you must probably have noticed that the sector is changing with the emergence of master leases. In a master lease a large organization or institution will take the lease on several floors of office space and then sublease smaller spaces to healthcare providers. Once they have been signed, these contracts give well-funded companies the opportunity to offer individual lease contracts to physicians and other healthcare practitioners. There are many advantages associated with master leases, which is why they are currently trending and expected to significantly impact the medical sector in the years to come. This article discusses the emergence and effects of master leases.

New, larger medical office space is available

One of the main benefits of master leases is that they spur the construction of modern buildings that meet the new standards of the healthcare sector. Indeed, healthcare professionals used to rent office space in conventional buildings, which they then tried to convert into medical office space. This often made it hard for certain doctors to successfully integrate a geographical area of interest due to the limited availability of high-quality medical office space. The advent of master leases is to bring changes that will affect the activity of doctors in various ways. For instance, critics are already pointing out that the cost of renting new and modern medical office space could be prohibitive given the recent surge in medical office lease rates across the nation.

The role of the Affordable Care Act

As you might know, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has brought massive changes in the U.S. healthcare system. While some have complained about its negative implications such as the technological standards that doctors are now required to meet when caring for patients, others have praised the fact that the new legislation means more business for physicians. To accommodate the new influx of patients, doctors will need to be in larger and better-equipped offices.

The emergence of master leases is putting pressure on rents since medical office space is demanded by creditworthy doctors. This is a win-win situation for both corporate landlords and tenants, since the latter will be eligible for all the benefits associated with the ACA full compliance.

Please contact us for more information on  medical office space.

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Healthcare Reform is Changing the Way Physicians are Leasing Medical Office Space

Up until now, physicians and other health care providers worked within a cookie cutter form of office space. The first thing that patients see is the reception area, which is typically lined with chairs and stocked with magazines. There’s also the predictable check-in desk and hallways that lead to the examining rooms, and perhaps a lab room and several restrooms. With more insured people since the Affordable Care Act passed, the way physicians are leasing medical office space is changing. Today, there is a higher demand for more versatile medical office spaces.

Higher Demand For Outpatient Services

The simple truth is that there are more Americans that have health insurance due to the Affordable Care Act and that means there is more demand for services. All too often, hospitals cannot handle a higher patient load than they already experience and services are converted to off campus locations. It’s natural then, that there would be a higher demand for medical office space to accommodate the extra patients. However, that traditional floor plan discussed earlier may not be efficient for doctors or their patients.

Doctors and Physician’s Assistants

Oftentimes, a physician’s assistant is called upon to handle patients that require less care, and those that are being seen for basic check-ups and the like. A waiting room for the physician and a second waiting room for the assistant keep patients comfortable and allow for a more efficient workflow. Patients can check in at the main desk and are then directed to the right waiting room. Working together, yet separately, both providers are able to see more patients in a day, thus meeting the new demand for their services.

Medical Records Change Storage Needs

In the past, doctors had to keep huge files for every one of their patients for as long as a decade. For a large practice, those paper files take up a huge amount of space, which often cannot be found on the site. Oftentimes, that means having to rent a storage space across town. However, as physicians convert to medical records, they no longer need the same amount of storage space in their offices, or otherwise. That means that more space can be dedicated to patient treatment and examining rooms, which allows more to be seen in a day.

Increased Need For Other Services

In the past, if a patient had to have lab work, physical therapy, x-rays or other services, they would have to travel to a different building. Not only is this inconvenient, but it is inefficient as well. Keeping all of these satellite services under the same room as the physician’s office makes much more sense. Patients need only walk to another part of the facility to receive the tests or treatments that they were prescribed. It’s also beneficial to the doctor since they are able to get results faster than if they were outsourced.

If you are looking for medical office space, keep these things in mind and don’t be afraid to think outside the box that you’ve been in so long. It’s time for a new way of thinking about your space that will serve you and your patients better. Please, feel free to contact us if you need assistance finding a new space for your practice. We understand how important it is for you and your patients.

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