| Course | HCS 446 Facility Planning (HCS/446) |
|---|---|
| Week | 5 |
| Paper type | Facility project management paper |
| Length | about 1,038 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Health Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for HCS 446 Week 5
Fourteen Months of Construction and Four of Rehearsal: Managing the Schedule, Budget, Risks and Opening of a County Crisis Receiving Center
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
HCS/446: Facility Planning
Week 5 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The project, its budget and its schedule are composites written for a model paper; project management and design guidance come from the sources listed.
The steering committee for a composite county's crisis receiving center approved the final construction documents in March. The building's design, a renovated former urgent care building with an addition, two entrances, a 16-recliner observation area and a 16-bed short-term unit, was complete. What remained was to build it on time and within budget and to open it safely. This paper presents the project management plan for that work.
Governance and Team
The provider's project director is the owner's representative, with authority to approve changes up to $25,000; larger changes go to the steering committee. The architect administers the construction contract and reviews the contractor's work against the drawings. The contractor, hired during design to advise on cost, manages subcontractors and the site. A clinical lead, the future nurse manager, joins every meeting that touches patient areas. The team meets weekly on site, and decisions are recorded in minutes circulated within 24 hours. Current professional guidance describes project management as delivering value through principles such as stewardship, engaging stakeholders and tailoring the approach to the project, and the team adopted short written decisions as its main tool (Project Management Institute, 2021).
The Schedule
Milestones run as follows: permits and mobilization, months one and two; demolition and interior renovation of the existing building, months two to eight; addition foundations and steel, months three to seven; addition enclosure and interiors, months seven to 13; systems testing and punch list, month 14; activation, months 15 to 18; opening, month 18 after construction starts, about 34 months after the needs assessment began.
The Critical Path
The critical path runs through the addition: foundations, steel, roof and enclosure, then interior work and the fire sprinkler and alarm acceptance test. Two long-lead items sit on or near it: ligature-resistant door hardware and the security locking system, both with lead times of up to 20 weeks. The contractor ordered both in month one. The opening date was decided less by carpenters than by a door handle ordered five months before the walls existed.
The Budget
The total budget is $14.6 million: construction, $10.4 million; design and engineering fees, $1.1 million; furniture and equipment, $0.9 million; information technology, security cameras and nurse call, $0.6 million; activation, including staff hired before opening and training, $0.5 million; and contingency, $1.1 million, about 8% of the total. Renovation carries more unknowns than new building, so the contingency is weighted toward the existing structure.
Change Control
Any change request, from a clinician or the contractor, goes on a standard form describing the change, reason, cost and schedule effect. The project director approves or rejects small changes within a week; larger ones go to the steering committee. After opening a door to a staff area was requested three times by different clinicians, the team adopted a rule that clinical change requests must come through the clinical lead, who checks them against the functional program.
Risk Register
Five risks head the register, each with an owner and response. Hidden conditions in the existing building, such as outdated wiring: contractor, with contingency and early investigation. Long-lead hardware delays: contractor, with early orders and a weekly supplier call. Staff recruitment shortfalls: nurse manager, with recruiting starting in month nine. Neighborhood concerns during construction: project director, with monthly updates to the advisory group. Cost increases for materials: contractor, with early purchase of steel and a price escalation allowance.
Construction in an Occupied Neighborhood
Because the site sits beside homes and a bus stop, construction management includes the neighbors. Work hours are limited to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, deliveries use the side street away from the bus stop and a fence with a viewing window and a project sign carrying the project director's phone number surrounds the site. Dust and noise are monitored during demolition, and a construction manager walks the perimeter each afternoon. These steps cost little, but a single complaint to the planning commission could have reopened the conditions of the use permit, so they were written into the contractor's agreement rather than left to goodwill.
Communication
The project director sends a monthly one-page report to the steering committee on schedule, budget, changes and risks, and a quarterly update to the county commission and the neighborhood advisory group. Police, mobile teams and emergency departments receive updates in the six months before opening so they can plan the change in where people in crisis are taken.
Activation
Activation begins four months before opening. Staff are hired in two waves, leaders first. Training covers crisis de-escalation, the building's safety features, medical emergencies and restraint policy. Mock scenarios test the police handoff at the sally port, a medical emergency in the observation area, a fire alarm with the locking system releasing and a person arriving intoxicated at 3 a.m. Each scenario produces a list of fixes. Federal crisis care guidelines (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2025) inform staffing and the no-refusal policy that training reinforces.
Inspections and Opening
The building official's final inspection, the fire marshal's acceptance testing, the state licensing survey and an independent ligature assessment take place in the last month. The center opens in phases: observation first, to walk-ins only for one week, then police drop-offs, then the short-term unit in week three.
Post-Occupancy Evaluation
Six months after opening, the team will measure the building against its design goals: median police handoff time against the ten-minute target, refusals against the goal of zero, use of restraint and injuries to patients and staff and staff and patient ratings of calm and privacy, outcome categories drawn from the evidence-based design literature the team used from the start (Ulrich et al., 2008). Findings will guide changes and will be shared with other counties planning similar centers.
Conclusion
The crisis center's project plan gives equal weight to building and opening. Governance, a schedule built around its critical path, a budget with contingency, change control, a risk register and communication keep construction on track, while four months of activation and a phased opening turn a finished building into a working service. A post-occupancy evaluation will show whether the design delivers what the county needed.
References
Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2025). 2025 national guidelines for a behavioral health coordinated system of crisis care (PEP24-01-037). https://library.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/national-guidelines-crisis-care-pep24-01-037.pdf
Ulrich, R. S., Zimring, C., Zhu, X., DuBose, J., Seo, H., Choi, Y., Quan, X., & Joseph, A. (2008). A review of the research literature on evidence-based healthcare design. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 1(3), 61-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/193758670800100306
What the HCS 446 Week 5 instructions ask
HCS 446 Week 5 usually asks students to describe how the construction or renovation of their planned facility would be managed. Prompts may cover the project team and roles, the schedule and major milestones, the budget and contingency, procurement, risk management, change control, communication, inspections and the transition into the new facility, sometimes called activation or occupancy planning. Some sections also ask about evaluation after opening. Several pages with sources is common. Strong papers treat the project as a sequence of decisions with owners, dates and money attached, identify the critical path and the main risks, explain how changes are controlled and give activation the same attention as construction.
How this HCS 446 Week 5 example is built
The paper opens with the moment the steering committee approves the final construction documents. It names the project governance: the owner's project director, the architect, the contractor and a weekly meeting where decisions are made and recorded. A milestone schedule runs from permits through construction to opening, with the critical path through the addition's steel and the long-lead security hardware. The budget breaks $14.6 million into construction, design fees, equipment, technology, activation and contingency. Change control, a risk register with five main risks and a communication plan follow. The activation section details four months of hiring, training and mock scenarios. The paper closes with inspections, opening and evaluation.
HCS 446 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go
Instructors usually grade the project management week on completeness and realism. Points go to a clear project team with roles, a schedule with milestones and a critical path, a budget with contingency, processes for change control, risk and communication and a transition plan for opening the facility. Recognizing health care specific issues, such as licensure inspections, infection control during construction and staff training, earns credit. The plan should be consistent with earlier weeks' facility, site and floor plan. Support from project management and health care design sources strengthens the paper. Writing and APA formatting complete the rubric. Plans that end when construction ends, or that include no contingency or risk management, typically receive fewer points.
HCS 446 Week 5 help: mistakes to avoid
The most frequent gap in HCS 446 Week 5 is stopping at construction. A health care facility is not ready when the paint dries; plan months for hiring, training, testing and licensing. Another is a budget with no contingency; include one, commonly 5% to 10% for new construction and more for renovation. Identify the critical path, the sequence of tasks that determines the opening date. Name risks with owners and responses. Describe how changes will be requested, priced and approved, since uncontrolled changes break budgets. Keep the plan consistent with earlier weeks. Include inspections and licensure. Finally, plan an evaluation after opening to learn whether the building works as intended.
Related HCS 446 sample papers
Other HCS 446 week samples
- HCS 446 Week 1: The Facility Design Process
- HCS 446 Week 2: Facility Selection and Research
- HCS 446 Week 3: Crisis Center Floor Plan
- HCS 446 Week 4: Codes, Compliance and Utilization
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HCS 446 Week 5 questions, answered
What does HCS/446 Week 5 usually ask for?
Many sections ask students to explain how their facility project would be managed, including team, schedule, budget, risks, change control, inspections and the transition into the new building.
Where can I find a free HCS 446 Week 5 sample paper?
You can read the full crisis center project plan above for free; comments in the margin explain the schedule and budget choices. We will write the first project management section for your facility free.
What is the critical path in a construction project?
The longest sequence of dependent tasks that determines the earliest possible completion date; a delay on the critical path delays the whole project.
What is activation in health care facility planning?
The period before opening when staff are hired and trained, equipment and systems are tested, mock scenarios are run, licenses are obtained and the move is carried out.
What is a post-occupancy evaluation?
A structured review, usually several months after opening, of how well a building performs for patients and staff compared with the goals set during design.
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