Facility Maintenance Is an Ecosystem, Not a Checklist
September 22, 2026Current trends in healthcare facility construction and expansion cover a wide range of projects; activity today is centered on hospital campus expansions, new satellite/outpatient locations, and medical office renovation geared toward improving both patient experience and sustainability.
And as healthcare facilities update and expand their infrastructure, part of their planning needs to account for the changes that will be needed in facility management. The way a healthcare space is maintained after construction can affect patient experience, staff efficiency, infection prevention, safety, and operating costs.
Healthcare Facility Expansion Grows
Healthcare construction activity continues to reflect the industry’s need for updated infrastructure, expanded access to care, and flexible care environments. Definitive Healthcare reported more than 1,000 healthcare construction-related certificates of need and requests for proposals in 2025 through September. Much of the activity is taking place in the South. Georgia ranked third with 83 construction-related CONs and RFPs, and South Carolina ranked eighth with 31.
Large-scale projects are also moving forward. Becker Hospital Review identified 18 health system projects worth $500 million or more that were announced, advanced, or opened in 2026. These projects include replacement hospitals, patient towers, cancer centers, and other major facility investments.
While Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) reported an uptick for new hospital construction in 2026, the trend for the last decade has been weighted toward healthcare renovation rather than brand-new facilities. This new construction is expected to comprise fewer but bigger projects from giant healthcare systems, while the majority of construction (65% in 2025) remains focused on updating and expanding current facilities.
Upstate South Carolina provides two examples: Novant Health has broken ground on a new $132 million medical complex in Greenville, including a new out-patient hospital, and Prisma Health announced a $350 million expansion of its Greer Memorial Hospital campus. The latter project is expected to more than double the number of patient beds and significantly expand outpatient care with a medical park. The plan includes a $250 million hospital expansion and renovation, a three-story 110,000-square-foot tower, and a $100 million medical office building.
Projects like the Prisma expansion show how healthcare growth often addresses multiple facility needs at once: inpatient care, outpatient care, specialty services, parking, patient access, and ongoing maintenance.
As healthcare organizations grow, facility needs grow with them. New and renovated spaces require ongoing support to remain clean, functional, and ready for daily use. US&S can work with healthcare general contractors to provide a wide range of facility renovation support, including plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. Our ongoing facility maintenance services are also scalable and able to grow with healthcare facilities as they expand.
Number of Satellite Locations Grows
Healthcare facility expansion can take several forms. Some organizations are adding inpatient capacity, while others are renovating aging spaces, expanding emergency departments, updating operating rooms, or adding specialty practices. One marked trend is the investment in outpatient medical offices and satellite locations.
Healthcare providers are using satellite medical offices and clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, and urgent care facilities to bring care closer to patients and bridge the growing gap in primary-care coverage. Modular formats provided added flexibility in how and where treatment is provided. Some of these satellite locations are new construction, but many buildings are acquisitions, including office and retail spaces, that require renovation for healthcare use.
However, additional locations can also create added complexity. A hospital campus, outpatient clinic, urgent care center, medical office, and administrative building may each have different traffic patterns, cleaning needs, operating hours, surfaces, equipment, and service expectations.
US&S can support mutli-site healthcare organizations with coordinated facility maintenance and janitorial services across numerous buildings, departments, and service areas. A single-vendor approach helps healthcare teams maintain consistent service standards, simplify communication, and reduce the administrative burden of managing multiple providers.
Renovations Center on Patient Experience & Sustainability
Two of the major drivers for current healthcare facility renovation are improving the patient experience and improving sustainability efforts.
Patient experience depends on clean, functional facilities. For aging hospital systems, improving that experience often entails upgrading patient rooms, lighting, and waiting areas as well as modernization efforts to enhance patient access, flow, and comfort. Some trends benefit both patients and staff, such as decentralized nursing stations, which put nurses closer to their patients.
Because hospitals operate around-the-clock, they consume a large amount of energy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that healthcare facilities use roughly 9% of commercial building energy, while only accounting for 4% of floor space.
Sustainability-led renovations seek ways of reducing energy consumption and promoting other eco-friendly practices. Aging health facilities often require infrastructure upgrades to become more energy efficient.
US&S can help organizations implement both energy-efficient renovations and sustainable facility maintenance and janitorial practices. US&S has achieved ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard – Green Building Certification with Honors.
How US&S Supports Healthcare Facility Growth
New Healthcare Spaces Create New Maintenance Needs
Once construction is complete, those new spaces still need dependable support and maintenance planning. A healthcare general contractor may manage the construction phase, while a facility services partner supports the daily operations that follow.
This support is especially important in healthcare facilities, where maintenance issues can disrupt daily operations and affect patient care. Daily facility conditions also shape how patients, visitors, and staff experience the space and judge the facility.
US&S supports healthcare organizations with preventative and corrective facility maintenance and medical cleaning services designed for regulated, patient-facing environments. Services can include cleaning, disinfection, facility repairs, regular inspections, and infection prevention cleaning support.
For healthcare facilities that are expanding or renovating, cleaning plans should be reviewed alongside the physical changes. More rooms, more public areas, more high-touch surfaces, and more patient volume can all change the level of janitorial support a facility needs.
Expansion Can Increase Vendor and Labor Pressure
Expansion can place more pressure on internal teams. Healthcare organizations already manage patient care, staffing, compliance, supply needs, maintenance requests, and operational demands. New or renovated space can add to that workload.
Health Facilities Management reported that healthcare facility project managers are still seeing long lead times, supply chain issues, and labor shortages, though teams have become better at planning for those challenges.
Outsourcing facility maintenance and janitorial services can help healthcare organizations reduce administrative burden, consolidate vendor management, and maintain a consistent service model.
US&S offers a single-source solution by placing maintenance and janitorial services under one construct. This creates one point of contact, fewer contracts to manage, and fewer administrative and accounting concerns.
Plan Beyond the Construction Phase
Healthcare facility construction, expansion, and renovation activity can create better access, stronger patient experiences, and updated spaces for care delivery. Once a project is complete, the facility still needs to operate every day.
US&S has experience supporting healthcare systems, including AnMed, Prisma Health, Self Regional Healthcare, and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. With the capacity to support facility maintenance and janitorial services for healthcare organizations across the Southeast, US&S helps maintain clean, functional spaces for patients, staff, and visitors.
If your healthcare organization is expanding, renovating, or reevaluating facility support across multiple locations, contact US&S to discuss the cleaning, maintenance, and operational needs that keep your spaces ready for patients, staff, and visitors.
