New clinic set up

[MrPhysio+]

Hi everyone,
I am in the process of building a new clinic, with approximately 230 square metres of space, mostly open plan lay out. The reception area and waiting room are divided from the rest of the treatment area and gymnasium by a wall & door. It is proposed for this to have a non slip vinyl surface.

I am interested in hearing from others regarding a workable layout for the treatment area and gym. The plan is to have 5 treatment areas, one being a solid closed off room for privacy, and perhaps to lease this room sessionally for other health professionals. The other four rooms will be approximately 5 metres by 2.5 metres, and will be curtained off. It is a possibility to have pull out dividers (fabric or vinyl) between the rooms, with curtain track across the front for access. It is hoped to be able to push all equipment out of the way occasionally for space to have public meetings for education, etc.

Any ideas for floor coverings for the treatment areas & gym? We are thinking of carpet for the treatment & gym areas. Does anybody have preferences for gym area coverings?

Thanks for any input. Other ideas welcome.

MrPhysio

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[alophysio]

Hello Mr Physio!

A different type of post from you

Since you are describing my *dream* clinic (230sqm!!!), I would like to put in my 2 cents worth (it used to be more until the recent property downturn!)

* Floor coverings
- Commercial grade carpet. The best is woollen carpet (so i am told - happy to be wrong!). I do not know where you are (?Country Vic??) but it is nice for your clients to lie on and commercial grade means it won't look worn out. Downside is can't do dry needling since regs in NSW say you must have a hard surface. Also, vacuuming is a tiresome job.
- Vinyl. Nice, easy to clean (get an ENJO mop - just add water and go for it!), noisy. Lots of echos. Versatile since you can put down rubber mats for weights area and mats for lying down on. My choice for the big areas.

Otherwise sounds like somethiing I would kill for! Do you own the building? If so, good on you!

[DMITSCH]

Hi guys,

I can strongly recommend Flotex in sheet form. It costs more but is exceptional for commercial fit-outs. I've used it for heavy wear areas in the past and it performed very well. It does need cleaning with a duplex machine when it gets heavy use but it's worth it.

www.karndean.com

Cheers,
D.

[MrPhysio+]

Hi
Thanks for the info and feedback. Thanks Damian, we have seen the Karndean range, and agree that it is worthwhile to pay extra for quality provided. Your experience of this product is helpful.
(As a sidepoint, thanks to the PBA for sending out .pda business solutions tailored with each members clinic name - first topic, Privacy Information for patients. Great initiative.)

The clinic is in rural Victoria, an hour outside Melbourne. I also do dry needling, however I am unaware of restrictions re carpet in this State. We were taught in a carpeted area!
This project is our dream, hocked up to the hilt (and beyond!), with the hope that it will translate into effective superannuation via property price increases, plus patient increases from population growth. Yes, we will own it eventually (I will effectively be a bank employee until retirement). As we are building a house with the clinic- separated by a firewall), we will not need to pay anyone rent, just bank interest.

I expect that we will have a mix of quality vinyl sheet (wet areas & reception), and commercial carpet. If possible, the open plan part (gym & treatment areas) will not have any lips between sections, to reduce tripping risks. This means a compromise, as carpet is better for treatment areas as patients can lay down. Vinyl in the gym is easier to clean, but will mark and indent from heavy equipment & weights.

Any suggestions re lighting. Fluorescent 5000K tubes seem to be the go for cost and running expense, although they can be stark for patients staring up, even with diffusers.

Has any one had experience of in ceiling cassette style commercial reverse cycle airconditioners? Domestic units will struggle for the open plan area, and need to be positioned near an outside wall, which will blow cold or over warm air into some cubicles, which is not ideal.

All being well, the clinic will be operating in April 2006.

Thanks again for the input.
MrPhysio

[alophysio]

Hi MrPhysio

Dry Needling:

Check with your local council for their regulations. I believe each one has slightly different regulations...

Lighting:

- Fluros are cost-effective but *bright*.
- Down-lights are pretty but even worse than fluros for glare and are *painful* when lying there looking at them.
- Incandescents are the best but expensive to run.

When doing the "ideal" plans for our clinic, which we will be doing over christmas, we would have:
- Down-lights in reception with fluros - fluros during the day, down-lights at night
- Wall lights facing up (incandescents - on dimmers) with fluros in the ceiling - can use the fluros for most treatments but then use soft lighting for migraine patients, etc
- Fluros in the gym area with maybe down-lights around the fringes for flexability (holding meetings, highlighting pictures, paintings, etc). Maybe some wall uplights in the cubicle areas with option to turn off the fluro in that cubicle would be good.

The more flexability with lighting options, the better. It is much cheaper to do it now during construction that retrofit later.

If in doubt, ask an interior designer about lighting concepts...

Finance:

*This is not professional advice*

Have you gone interest only? It would improve your cashflow and the increase in cash-flow will assist affordability. 3year fixed rates are currently at 6.5%p.a. (pretty cheap!).

Also, try never to own it! As it goes up in value, re-finance and invest into other property (outside of your town for diversification)

We are currently going deeper into investment properties - something else we have learnt is *do everything you can to avoid having to sell*!!!

Air Conditioning:

The creche where my kids go to has the cassette type units. They are very effective, quiet and unobtrusive (unless you are looking up at them! Good option.

The research i have done suggests that getting *just the right size* air conditioner is the best as turning on/off is wasteful (too strong) and struggling all the time is a lot of wear and tear (too weak).

____________________________
Otherwise it sounds like a great project and i wish you all the best. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Our plans have been waylaid somewhat. We were told to budget for $2000/sqm but it turned out to be $3000/sqm. Anyone have a cool $900k+ to invest in a clinic?!

We are just going to do an internal reno and gradually do what we want...

If you could email me your town, it might be a good location to buy property!

Thanks!

[MrPhysio+]

Hi again
Thanks alophysio. Good suggestions, especially the lighting. We are in Healesville, Victoria. Land prices have gone up 64% yearly over the last 4 years, in this area. It is called the Yarra Valley, which is a premium wine growing district. The most recent quarter has shown a nearly 40% price growth, whereas some Melbourne areas have dropped 10% in value. As usual, we bought land near the peak, (this will sound cheap for a Sydney audience), half an acre block (a tad over 1800sq metres), for $110,000. Four years previously the same block was $64000. Over 12 months the land has appreciated to $145 - 150,000 (judging on the block next to us that sold 3 months ago.

Despite the above, we have had to double our expected budget to achieve a version of what we wanted, and we are not finished yet, by a long shot. What we want, and what we can now achieve are very different.

Although this topic is different to my usual posts, there is a consistency. My initial consultation fee for private patients is $60, whereas NSW WorkCover (I believe) has now accepted $65 for an initial treatment given by WorkCover approved therapists. In Victoria, we receive less than $40 for a WorkCover subsequent treatment, with NSW now receiving $55. A big difference.

The differential affects the ability to develop business in this State, and remain top level in treatment provision. A smaller rural community does not provide the cash flow, hence our project hedging bets on the way the clinic is designed - easily converted for future owners/ types of business.

As you say, it is best not to sell, and to refinance existing property. We have done exactly as you say with this building.
Thanks again for the helpful hints, and good luck with your project over xmas. If I knew how, I could post some pictures. I do not know if we are allowed to do this? Hints EZ Board?
MrPhysio

[Student888]

Hi,

I am a student currently doing a project on designing a physiotherapy clinic preferably sports related. I am having a lot of trouble finding floor plans and pictures of existing physiotherapy clinics from which I can gain a better understanding of how a physio clinic operates so that I may design my own clinic. I was wondering if there was anyway you could help me out. Any information about how to design a physiotherapy clinic would be EXTREMELY appreciated.


Thank you soo much