We have spent decades advancing the planning and design of community hospitals, supporting the shift from large, centralized campuses to more agile, right-sized facilities that respond to changing demographics, care delivery models, and patient expectations. This work requires balancing practical delivery experience with data-informed decision-making and a clear understanding of how healthcare systems evolve over time.
At PhiloWilke, this experience has shaped a dedicated, interdisciplinary team focused on community hospital design. We bring together planning, design, and operational expertise to help health systems make strategic decisions about size, service mix, and facility deployment, always grounded in the realities of each community and with flexibility for future growth.
In the May/June issue of Medical Construction & Design, Melissa Edwards, AIA, LEED AP, shares insight drawn from decades of experience in community hospital planning and design. Her article, “The New Neighborhood Hospital: Why size, location, and strategy for community hospitals matter,” explores how health systems are rethinking scale, siting, and service delivery to meet shifting population patterns and patient expectations. Read the full article to understand how data-driven decision-making and adaptive facility strategies are shaping the next generation of care environments. Please use this link to the Medical Design and Construction Magazine May/June 2026 issue.
As reflected in this article, we believe that success in the next decade will depend on this kind of coordinated, team-based approach, anticipating where patients are going, deployeing facilities intentionally, and building resilient networks of care that serce communities both now and in the future.
Authors
Melissa Edwards“The next generation of community hospitals won’t be built where patients are today—they’ll be built where patients are moving tomorrow.”