Integrated Buildings & Structures

When working on the state infrastructure report card, I was struck by the fact that healthcare infrastructure is not listed as a category, while schools are.  Why not?  Does it have to do with hospitals being private institutions?

The major question in the days and weeks ahead will be is our healthcare infrastructure adequate?  If not, how can we address the issue now and in the future?

The answer to this question is likely to vary by state and city.  Here in RI we had a hospital close last year and others have uncertain futures.  Can it still be used in an emergency?  Apparently not: GoLocalProv | News | Memorial Hospital Will Not Be Used for Coronavirus Overflow, Says State

Reports in Washington indicate the state purchased an old Econolodge for triage.  Politicians are now calling for the Army Corps of Engineers to build hospitals.  Is this needed?  Is the Army Corps the correct entity to call upon?

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Chad Morrison P.E., M.ASCE
Professional Engineer
Greenville RI
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Chad,

Thank you for your question. In short, healthcare infrastructure is not included in the Infrastructure Report Card because of a lack of publicly-available and aggregated data on the condition of the facilities and the funding gap they face. All of our chapters are developed using data that is comprehensive and publicly available, ideally sourced from the federal government. No such data set exists for healthcare infrastructure, which limits our ability conduct analysis. 

Thank you again for your question.

Anna Denecke
ASCE

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Anna Denecke
ASCE
Washington DC
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