In Episode 17 of Constructing With Care, host Leslie Tullio welcomes back Sarah Francis (Enterprise AVP of Standards and Activation at Advocate Health), Jeff Schroeder (AVP of Planning, Design & Construction at Atrium Health), and Sean Ashcroft (Healthcare Core Market Leader at DPR Construction) for a deep dive into the impact of standardization in healthcare construction.

Together, they explore how reducing variation across campuses not only enhances operational efficiency and construction outcomes but also significantly improves caregiver training and patient experience. The conversation highlights Advocate Health’s journey toward adopting standardization, including lessons learned, the importance of collaboration, and the growing embrace of prefabrication in healthcare design and construction.

Key Topics Covered:

• [00:01:00] Why standardization matters: benefits across efficiency, training, and care consistency

• [00:02:00] Lessons from Advocate Health’s multi-year implementation journey

• [00:03:00] The importance of mindset, tenacity, and leadership in driving change

• [00:04:00] Creating collaborative spaces for innovation and shared ownership

• [00:06:00] How prefabrication evolves and improves over time

• [00:07:30] Gaining trade partner buy-in and building budget alignment

• [00:08:30] How standardization reduces labor risk and increases construction reliability

• [00:10:00] Advocating from within: Sarah Francis on internal evangelism and enterprise adoption

• [00:11:00] Clinical and operational benefits of standardization.

Quotable Moments:

Sarah Francis, Enterprise Assistant Vice President, Standards & Activation-Planning, Design & Construction, Advocate Health

• "People are our greatest resource. What standardization does is ensure consistency, quality, and safety for our patients and teammates by reducing variability in their work environment."

Sean Ashcroft, Healthcare Core Market Leader, DPR Construction

• "This is a continuous improvement journey—each project gets more efficient as stakeholders gain experience with prefabrication."

Jeff Schroder, AVP Planning, Design and Construction, Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health

• "Revenue recognition improves because prefabrication helps us get projects out of the gate faster and execute more accurately."