McMillan Pazdan Smith Introduces Healthcare Advisory Services Team

As members of the MPS Advisors gathered in a Charlotte podcast studio late 2021 to record the first episode of “Ideas Shaping Healthcare,” Minta Ferguson, the firm’s director of planning, leaned into the microphone and said what was on her mind. “We could be on the cusp of a healthcare renaissance.”

MPS Advisors from left: Sara Robinson, senior associate architect; Liz Jones, project designer; Meredith Letendre, senior strategist; Brad Smith, founding principal; Minta Ferguson, director of planning; Laney Fleck, healthcare intern architect; Bill Slowick, healthcare architect.

COVID-19 has accelerated shifts in consumer preferences and care delivery models. McMillan Pazdan Smith has spent the pandemic assembling an advisory team of strategic planners, consultants and healthcare architects to respond to the healthcare industry’s disruption. This year, the team has been very busy helping health systems optimize their facilities and assets for future growth and better long-term efficiency.

One of the themes the MPS Advisors discuss when consulting with providers is that disruption creates opportunities—but only if clients are positioned to make bold decisions based on data, innovation and collaboration.

To accomplish that directive, MPS Advisors creates customized, data-driven facility studies that guide a healthcare system’s transformation over time while uniting stakeholders around shared priorities. Patient experience is one of the key areas that can be improved when these studies are applied. According to Deloitte Insights, 92% of healthcare system survey respondents are hoping to achieve a better patient experience in 2022 and beyond.

Partnering with advisory services often begins with a discovery call to learn about a client’s unique needs, growth goals and key performance units. The Advisors also produce a monthly podcast and blog to keep healthcare industry insiders informed of the latest trends and technology innovations.

“Health and wellness are at the forefront of our communities, but we continue to face provocation,” Ferguson said. “While the challenges have never been more complex, there are realistic, implementable solutions; we just need to work through them from a new angle.”