An Integrative Model-Based Approach to Hospital Layout

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Abstract
The issues of facility layout and bed allocation in health care settings are typically evaluated separately using very different model-based approaches. This paper describes a two-phase approach to the hospital layout problem that incorporates a number of considerations from typical layout models and methods used in determining bed allocations. The first phase involves a quadratic integer goal programming model that determines a configuration and recommended allocation of beds to hospital services. The detailed ramifications of the proposed layout are then evaluated in the second phase via a simulation model. The application of the optimization-simulation approach in a general purpose hospital is described.