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CAREGROUP/BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER SELECTS BOSTON-BASED VFA TO DRIVE INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
VFA to Assess Current Conditions of Hospital Facilities
Boston, MA - March 26, 2002 - VFA, a leading provider of physical infrastructure capital planning and management solutions, continues to lead the integration of facility management and multi-year budget optimization in the healthcare industry with the deployment of VFA.facility™ software and associated condition assessment services at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A member of CareGroup, Beth Israel Deaconess implemented VFA's Capital Planning and Management Solutions (CPMS™) approach to clearly understand the value and conditions of its building portfolio, create long-term capital plans for those physical assets and propel development of the hospital's infrastructure master plan.
Well-maintained facilities enable hospitals to deliver optimal healthcare services and assure that the physical environment is equipped to support both patients and service providers. As a world-class, premiere healthcare institution, Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess joins VFA's growing roster of healthcare clients that view proactive facility care as an integral component to their institution's future growth and viability.
With various facilities dating back to the early 1900s, Beth Israel Deaconess' infrastructure portfolio houses both inpatient and outpatient buildings and provides facilities for critical biomedical research. Hospital officials require reliable baseline information on each of its buildings that can be used in the development of financial plans, ensuring that renewal and renovation projects are prioritized according to need and in support of the hospital's programs and mission. VFA will work with hospital officials to conduct facility assessments at 27 buildings that total more than 2,500,000 square feet of space. The gathered building condition and associated cost information as well as an inventory of major building system equipment will be housed in VFA's decision support software, VFA.facility. All data will be included in Beth Israel Deaconess's infrastructure master plan for capital allocation.
"Delivering the highest quality of medical care and services to our patients requires a fully integrated capital planning and infrastructure management program that supports our objectives as a leading healthcare organization," said Ray Lafrenaye, director, facilities finance and administration, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "VFA's services for long-range strategic facility planning, management and budget development complement our efforts to develop a master plan for the hospital that will deliver targeted core benefits over the long term."
VFA's CPMS combines VFA.facility, the Company's Web-based asset management and facility planning software technology, with its proven facility condition assessment methodology to provide healthcare institutions with accurate and detailed pictures of their complete multi-building portfolio regardless of building location. In addition to delivering its CPMS system, VFA will complete an inventory of major building system equipment - approximately 1600 pieces - including air handling units, transformers, chillers, pumps, exhaust fans and elevators. The information will be integrated into VFA.facility, and within the database, the deficiencies are linked to their corresponding rooms. As a result, Beth Israel Deaconess executives will be empowered to determine renewal timing of major mechanical equipment without duplicating systems or assessment efforts.
"Unlike Beth Israel Deaconess, many institutions within the healthcare industry have overlooked the connection between their facilities and the long-term financial stability of their institutions," said Jerry Kokos, president and CEO, VFA. "Our CPMS approach arms both facilities professionals and healthcare executives with the information needed to create defensible budgets consistent with the organization's master plan. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is an industry innovator in taking this step forward to link facility management with its capital planning process and the delivery of healthcare services."
VFA.facility -VFA's benchmark software solution - is a fully Web-developed enterprise-level FM information repository and decision support tool that enables users to gather and maintain detailed building information across an entire property portfolio to support a coordinated and comprehensive approach to facilities capital management. VFA's CPMS, an integration of technology and methodology, empowers users to assess and measure building conditions; update condition information rapidly; and communicate the data to facility managers and superiors at sites across the country - all in a timely, cost-efficient manner.
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