Client Overview

MUSC Children’s Health is an integrated health care delivery system providing comprehensive pediatric care across the state of South Carolina. Consisting of a large network of primary, urgent and specialty care providers, a Level 1 Trauma Center, and a dedicated pediatric hospital, MUSC Children’s Health delivers the most advanced care possible in more than 26 specialty areas.

In 2014, the MUSC Health system sought to further advance its pediatric program by investing in the construction of a new, state of the art Children’s Hospital. With an advanced fetal care center, the largest NICU in the state, and various integrated clinical & administrative technologies, this new hospital was designed to ensure the seamless integration of obstetrical and children’s services, the highest level of clinical quality and patient safety, and the engagement and empowerment of families as partners in care.

 

The Challenge

Strategically, MUSC Health determined that the design of the new Children’s hospital should be a clinician, patient, and family-led project. While this approach was integral to ensuring that the hospital reflected the needs of its key stakeholders, the team required project management mechanisms and structures to apply identified input and perspectives to the reality of budget and scope. Without such systems in place to substantiate provider, patient and family requirements and translate them into a financially viable, operationally sound product, the preliminary project scope eclipsed the construction budget by $100M.

 

The Solution

KCG was engaged to facilitate the design process – from schematic design to value engineering – and challenge MUSC Health to revisit and refine programmatic and feasibility assumptions. To deliver an on-budget design that addressed clinical best practices, reflected patient & family priorities, and appropriately responded to market demand, KCG focused on three primary workstreams:

1. PROJECT GOVERNANCE: KCG began by establishing a clinician-led project governance structure, fully outfitted with proven project management tools and support. Then, KCG partnered with MUSC Health’s Strategy and Business Intelligence teams to ensure leaders were equipped with the necessary data to develop informed scoping decisions and recommendations.

2. SCOPE REALIGNMENT: KCG partnered with physician leaders to establish a clinical modality-based, multi-stakeholder workgroup structure to engage a broader range of SMEs [incl. designers, architects, clinicians, family members, etc.] in key dialogues & decisions. These workgroups collaborated to identify scope containment opportunities and ultimately develop design recommendations.

3. TRANSITION PLANNING: KCG further partnered with MUSC Health’s IT and Supply Chain teams to review proposed spend on technology infrastructure and furniture, fixtures & medical equipment [FFE] to identify opportunities to drive cost economies – culminating in a medical equipment re-use plan and phased transition approach to capital investments.

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About the Author
Anthony Powell
Managing Director

Anthony [Tony] Powell, Managing Director, oversees the firm’s strategic growth and client delivery functions. With over 30 years of experience as a Senior Strategy and Operations Executive, Powell partners with hospital and health system leaders to enhance performance through his expertise in strategy and organizational transformation efforts. Notable projects include: the design, development, and implementation of a state-wide, multi-hospital health system; the alignment and integration of a nationally recognized medical university’s hospital, faculty practice plan, and college of medicine; the alignment of a multi-hospital community system’s ambulatory network and clinical delivery capabilities; and the development of an AMC/Community Hospital affiliation and acquisition strategy.

Prior to joining KCG, Powell was a member of the executive team at Blackbaud [BLKB], a $4.4B publicly traded technology-solutions company serving the global nonprofit market, where he oversaw global professional services and enterprise sales. During his tenure, his divisions consistently grew at a CAGR of 40% with the company tripling in size. Preceding Blackbaud, Powell spent nearly a decade leading regional and national nonprofits’ development functions – his last role being at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

Powell’s leadership at KCG has received national recognition. KCG has been included in Inc. Magazine’s ‘Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies’ and has been featured in Consulting Magazine as both a ‘Firm to Watch’ and a ‘Fastest Growing Firm.’ In addition to his accomplishments at the firm, Powell also serves as an Associate in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Powell earned a BA in Economics and English from Allegheny College.