With the strongest and fastest growth of any segment, the healthcare market is more critical than ever to flooring manufacturers. Results from Floor Focus’ designer survey in this issue show that 18% of top projects among surveyed architects and designers (A&D) are medical/acute care, up nearly two-thirds from two years ago, and senior living top projects have more than doubled in just the last year. Also, designers report that the medical/acute care market is the fastest-growing commercial segment, up 38% over last year’s survey.
Contributing to the growth of the healthcare market is the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) vigorous pace of updating and developing new VA outpatient clinics that will give veterans better access to high quality care. Four new VA outpatient clinics in Chattanooga, Tennessee; San Antonio and Lubbock, Texas; and Phoenix, Arizona have broken ground this summer, with materials currently being bid. Developed by U.S. Federal Properties (USFP), the new clinics total 733,563 square feet and are designed to serve a population of 225,000 veterans.