Leaders Gather at DoD Medical Facilities Acquisition Summit

By Robert Haddix
Chief, Acquisition and Management Office, TRICARE Management Activity

Last week nearly 150 leaders in health care facility planning from the civilian sector, government agencies, academia, architects, engineers, and the Military Health System had the opportunity for “Partnering for Improved Effectiveness” through panel sessions focused on a re-examination of the current facility acquisition processes to develop ways to develop better, work-class facilities faster and at greater value.

Opening remarks and the attendees “charge” were provided by Mr. Allen Middleton (pictured), Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Dorko and John Becker. The keynote was provided by Brig. Gen. Patrick Burns, PE (USAF Retired). The summit then moved into panel presentations focused on the following key areas:

• Definition of Project Scope
• Control of Project Costs
• Innovations in Design and Construction Processes
• Reducing Project Delivery Time
• Best Practices in Acquisition Strategies

On day two of the summit the government participants worked in breakout sessions focused on identifying best practices for each of the key areas that can be directly applied to the MHS in the short-term. Opportunities for process re-engineering were presented as were tools and models that can be examined to improve facility acquisition strategies.

The participants adjourned poised to engage in additional workshops as needed that will be guided by the Proceedings and a Way Forward Action Plan. I would like to thank all of the participants for sharing their insights with us and look forward to furthering this important conversation in the coming months.