Focusing on efficiency

By Sarah A. Moser, Associate Editor

Dr. Steven G. Paul had owned three practices before he built his fourth. And while he had commissioned work on his previous facilities, Wiles Road Animal Hospital in Coral Springs, Fla., is the first practice he has built from the ground up.

He says one key to building his dream facility-and earning a Merit Award in the 2002 Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Competition-was that he paid attention to how his associates and staff members work. "As the owner, you know better than anyone how your practice runs and how your team members interact," he says. "I used that information to plan a smooth traffic flow."

Learn from the past

Dr. Paul's former practice, the old Wiles Road Animal Hospital, included four exam rooms and only one treatment table in a noisy, crowded treatment and surgery prep area. "Despite our best efforts to make the space work, we'd just outgrown it," he says.

To make sure they addressed all of the problems from the old facility in the new design, Dr. Paul and his staff members listed the elements they wanted in the new practice. "We took every suggestion to heart, except for the Jacuzzi and steam room, of course," he says.

Dr. Paul's design credo is this: "The facility should make day-to-day functions easier and more convenient for staff members," he says. "After all, when it's easier for our team members to clean up and stay organized, we're able to provide a cleaner, more welcoming practice for our clients." To achieve this goal, Dr. Paul included janitorial closets throughout the practice for easy clean-up; a central vacuum system with separate canisters at each work station; 25 networked computers; and a video surveillance system so staff members can find each other easily.

Dr. Paul also wanted retail displays and storage shelves to look like part of the design, not like an afterthought. For example, he created space for dog food storage over the kennel cages and built the retail shelves in the reception area to fit the room.

Looking at the finished hospital you'd never guess how many problems Dr. Paul encountered during the building process. It all started with financing, a process he expected to prove easy. But he says banking officials gave him the runaround. Finally a new bank in town saw merit in Dr. Paul's plan and loaned him the money.

The next chink in the plan came when an electrical contractor went bankrupt. The general contractor ended up hiring another contractor to finish the job, but the delay put completion behind schedule.

Then time constraints hit. "We had to be out of the old facility by Dec. 26, before the new practice was cleared for occupancy." Dr. Paul says he, his wife, and many staff members prepared the new hospital for opening day during the holidays that year.

"Team members pulled together to get us in the building in time," he says. "They asked their spouses to help, loaded their cars and trucks, and moved us a few blocks down the road to the new building. Our clients even helped us move about 50 boarding animals to the new facility. The process was difficult, but it was rewarding to see our team pull together to make this happen."

The final design

Dr. Paul envisioned a "pet-care complex" when he pictured building a new facility. He wanted a place where pet owners could visit for any pet-related need or want-but he didn't want to run all of it himself. So he designed a 9,893-square-foot facility and used 7,163 feet of that space for his practice. He rents space to an independent groomer on the west end of the first floor. The second floor, which features Dr. Paul's office, a meeting room, the employee break room, and an apartment for a preceptor, also offers additional tenant space. Dr. Paul hopes to attract a dog trainer or pet photographer.

When designing the practice, Dr. Paul and his architects, Mike Sanchez and Mark Schmidt, took care to place quiet areas of the hospital, such as the doctors' offices and surgery area, below the tenant spaces, and to place kennels away from tenant areas. "This business arrangement allows me to bring in additional income and make our hospital into a pet complex, not just a hospital," he says.

Dr. Paul hired two architects for a reason: "I wanted one architect who was well-versed in veterinary design, so I hired Mark, and I wanted someone who knew the area well, so I hired Mike. The arrangement worked great."

Gear up for changes

Building projects take lots of time, Dr. Paul says. While that's probably no surprise, it is something you need to plan for, he says. "For example, you'll need to set priorities. Something has to give, whether it's going to the gym every day or being home for dinner each night. Talk with your family about these issues ahead of time and determine the best schedule before delving into the project. Doing so will ease your stress during the construction process."

Dr. Paul says that his wife really pulled him through during this time. "My wife came right alongside every step of the way with this project, working at full speed to help me at work and at home," he says.

Next, he says, it's critical to plan carefully and minimize the changes you make during construction. "Change orders will quickly inflate your construction costs," he says. "I learned to nail down the final costs before authorizing changes and to plan carefully to avoid making many changes."

Finally, he says that when you change the physical structure of your practice, it's essential to change the way you work, too. "Upgrade your internal systems as you upgrade your design features," he says. For example, Dr. Paul added video surveillance throughout the facility to increase communication. "When we made our facility bigger, we knew we had to work harder to communicate with each other," he says. "So I installed the surveillance system and didn't skimp on the number of phones placed throughout the practice. I wanted to maintain personalization and communication, showing clients that while we're big, we still offer personal service."