FAST COMPANY ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2020 WORLD CHANGING IDEAS AWARDS→

VERDAY HEALTH SELECTED AS FINALIST IN SPACES, PLACES AND CITIES CATEGORY

 New York, April 28, 2020 — The winners of Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards were announced today, honoring the businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to flattening the curve when it comes to the climate crisis, social injustice, or economic inequality.

Verday Health was selected as a Finalist for Modular Health and Housing in the Spaces, Places and Cities category.

Now in its fourth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 26 winners, more than 200 finalists, and more than 500 honorable mentions—with Health and Wellness, Corporate Social Responsibility, and AI and Data among the most popular categories. A panel of eminent judges selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 3,000 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, and more.

Illustrating how some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies are addressing grave global challenges, Fast Company’s May/June issue celebrates a broad range of visionary companies across the globe, from Vancouver to Singapore to Tel Aviv.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized by Fast Company as a visionary company in the Spaces, Places and Cities category,” said Verday Health Co-Founder and CEO Susan Dix Lyons. “Health design is critically important and we need new solutions that are evidence-based, human-centered and fiscally efficient to meet the complex needs of health care today while anticipating the challenges and opportunities of the future.”  

“There seems no better time to recognize organizations that are using their ingenuity, resources, and, in some cases, their scale to tackle society’s biggest problems,” says Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists, under the leadership of senior editor Morgan Clendaniel, have uncovered some of the smartest and most inspiring projects of the year.”

About the World Changing Ideas Awards: World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company’s major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With a goal of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all. 

Why Modular Design for Health?

Verday Health believes that modular design and construction is the ideal way to go to provide a sustainable model for rural and community health design. Why? It occupies the sweet spot where viability, feasibility and desirability intersect.

In the past few years modular construction technology has advanced to make well-designed, low-cost construction feasible. Because of these advances and the efficiencies provided, modular solutions are now viable for healthcare. And, we believe that building evidence-based spaces for rural and community health with enhanced speed and reduced cost is desirable. Our conversations with professionals working in this healthcare space have reinforced this belief.

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve toward an approach to health that is more upstream – looking at the root causes of disease and the social, economic and environmental origins of health and wellbeing – more community-based solutions and services are pursued. This means a shift towards more ambulatory care, outpatient clinics and wellness centers, meeting patients in their communities as active partners in their health journeys. This rising focus on population health emphasizes education, prevention and wellness. We feel strongly that community-based spaces designed specifically to address these demands are needed. While telemedicine and digital health solutions will be increasingly adopted, there will always be a need for thoughtfully designed community space that supports healthcare delivery.

Modular planning and prefabrication’s cost-effective design-and-construction process increases speed-to-market, helping providers address community needs more effectively, with less friction. Whereas traditional construction of buildings from foundation to framing, enclosure and interior fit-out is often a long and unpredictable process, with modular construction a building is constructed off-site, under controlled plant conditions, using the same materials and designing to the same codes and standards as conventionally built facilities – but in about half the time. Buildings are produced in “modules” that offer predictable quality that’s customizable. Prototypes are scalable and flexible, allowing for quicker iterations of new care models. The factory-controlled process of modular generates less waste, creates fewer site disturbances and allows for tighter construction timelines. And, when put together on site, modular buildings can offer the same design intent and sophistication as facilities built on site.

The possibilities are exciting.

Consider this: A typical medical building can take three to five years to complete, from early concept planning and programming to design development, construction, and finally occupancy. A well-designed modular approach and program can reduce that timeline by half, resulting in savings that can be passed on to the patient. Time, of course, means money – but it also can often mean a delay in meeting the needs of patients. At Verday Health, we’re driven by a sense of purpose to serve those in need.

The automotive and retail industries have been using a modular approach successfully for decades, but not the healthcare industry. This is beginning to change, as the improving technology and benefits of modular become evident.

Ultimately, we’re focused on the patients, providers and the communities served. We’re not just builders, we’re community experience designers fixed on solutions that provide better care, compassion and convenience for those we have the privilege of serving. Peter’s roots in design and development, planning, and community leadership and Susan’s background in global healthcare, social innovation, and human-centered design make for a team that’s passionate about positive change for under-represented populations. We’re excited by what we can create with communities to increase access to quality care.

This article references information in “Building the Future of Modular Health Design,” by Stan Chiu and Andrew Zimmer (4/1/2018), https://hga.com/building-the-future-of-modular-healthcare-design/