Advancing indigent healthcare services through adaptive reuse: repurposing abandoned buildings as medical clinics for disadvantaged populations

BACKGROUND: Challenges abound for healthcare providers engaged in initiatives directed toward disadvantaged populations, with financial constraints representing one of the most prominent hardships. Society’s less fortunate typically lack the means to pay for healthcare services and even when they are covered by government health insurance programs, reimbursement shortcomings often occur, placing funding burdens on the shoulders of establishments dedicated to serving those of limited means. For such charitably-minded organizations, efficiencies are required on all fronts, including one which involves significant operational costs: the physical space required for care provision. DISCUSSION: Newly constructed buildings, whether owned or leased, are expensive, consuming a significant percentage of funds that otherwise could be directed toward patient care. Such costs can even prohibit the delivery of services to indigent populations altogether. But through adaptive reuse—the practice of repurposing existing, abandoned buildings, placing them back into service in pursuit of new missions—opportunities exist to economize on this front, allowing healthcare providers to acquire operational space at a discount. In an effort to shore up related knowledge, this article profiles Willis-Knighton Health System’s development of Project NeighborHealth, an indigent clinic network which was significantly bolstered by the economies associated with adaptive reuse. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its potential to bolster healthcare initiatives directed toward the medically underserved by presenting more affordable options for acquiring operational space, adaptive reuse remains relatively obscure, diminishing opportunities for providers to take advantage of its many benefits. By shedding light on this repurposing approach, healthcare providers will have a better understanding of adaptive reuse, enabling them to make use of the practice to improve the depth and breadth of healthcare services available to disadvantaged populations.