Activation and Transition Planning to Create a Healing Environment

UC Davis Health (UCDH) is managing more than $7 billion worth of new capital projects on its campus between 2021 and 2030, including the 48X Complex–a 267,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center (ASC) set to open in July 2025. With so many new facility projects to manage, the organization hired ECG’s experienced Activation and Transition Planning team to help transform existing design plans and the construction site for 48X into an operational healing environment for patients and staff.

The 48X Complex was designed to provide patients with the ideal care experience in an ASC, equipped to handle increased volume and complexity of ambulatory surgical care, education, and research at UCDH. With a total of 14 operating rooms and 59 pre- and postoperative recovery bays, 14 single-occupant 23-hour recovery rooms, and supporting clinics within the 48X Complex, intra- and interdepartmental operational elements such as workflows, staffing, and storage had to be detailed to ensure a successful opening.

Considering UCDH’s existing structure and project plans, over the span of 24 months ECG will complete activities associated with organizational, operational, people, and opening readiness. From an organizational readiness standpoint, ECG conducted kickoff meetings with 25 user groups, which helped us understand UCDH’s existing service offerings, procedures, and interdepartmental collaborations, while also gathering their future ideal-state operations. Ultimately, ECG delivered a readiness assessment and master activation schedule to help leaders across the organization understand pain points and key activities leading up to facility opening. Operational readiness will establish detailed plans surrounding a shared vision for care at 48X, detailed work processes, and an understanding of staff, patient, and material flow. As the ECG team transitions to people readiness and opening readiness, identifying training needs and plans, conducting day-in-the-life trainings, and sequencing move logistics will better prepare the 48X Complex for safe and successful patient care on day one of opening.

Work to date has seen the ECG team establish meeting cadences with necessary stakeholders and shape a clearly delineated scope of responsibilities between the program management team, construction team, UCDH strategy group, and ECG. We have also conducted a thorough floor plan review with the construction team and architect to understand layout, operational workflow paths, spatial adjacencies, and designated storage spaces. 

Over 25 kickoff meetings have been completed with user groups to help uncover current operations and expected pain points within the new 48X Complex. Separate meetings with UCDH leadership, the IT group, strategy team, and medical equipment management have been informative and have helped identify key themes and areas to focus on as the team prepares for readiness activities in the operational, people, and opening categories. Project roadmaps have also been shared to detail key upcoming activities from both short- and long-term viewpoints.