Critical Access Group
In response to a need in the healthcare market to upgrade, expand and/or replace aging hospitals, Altus formed its Critical Access Group (CAG) in 2004. The CAG concept was developed by asking hospital administrators, leaders in the healthcare industry and local, state and national associations to define the problems they faced. The solutions to these problems became the cornerstone of the processes and services CAG offers.   

The group is a strategic alliance of professional service firms that provide capital improvements for healthcare facilities under one umbrella. All of the expertise required to meet the complex needs of healthcare facilities is taken care of under one roof, including providing additional healthcare services, remodeling/renovating existing facilities, and building new or adding to existing facilities.    

It is a full-service project development firm, providing the management and delivery of consulting, architectural, engineering, environmental, financing, fundraising and construction management services.           

Currently, it serves a variety of healthcare organizations including major critical access hospitals and rural hospitals, medical clinics, skilled rehabilitation centers, assisted and independent living facilities, nursing and senior care facilities and behaviorally or developmentally challenged youth homes.        

“Many [hospitals] across the country today struggle with a lack of experience in the development and management of a capital improvement program,” Lamprecht notes.   

The services the group provides are designed to mimic the role of the owner on a project by acting as the owner’s representative – therefore making the process time and cost effective.    

Through its close relationships with contractors and project managers, Altus has developed spaces at reasonable prices for its clients. “We really recommend up front that an owner gets the contractor on board so that work can be done in a design/assist manner and there can be some sort of value engineering,” Sokol adds.    

“Every hospital is trying to capture more and more of the market, and all of these things are very important to the overall process that we go through,” he adds. “[Providers] want to improve their brand in the community. We create a look and feel and brand by the materials we use on the interior and exterior and give it that overall feel.”    

Most of the firm’s projects fall into the $250 to $300 per square foot range and provide a high-quality feel. Lamprecht says they allow the richness to show through without having the owner spend $400 per square foot on their facilities.