As healthcare organizations expand access to specialized care, they are under increasing pressure to deliver high-performing environments faster, more efficiently, and with the flexibility to evolve over time.
For Northwell Health, the vision for the Center for Advanced Medicine (CFAM) Cardiology Clinic in New Hyde Park, New York, extended well beyond creating a new clinical space. It was an opportunity to rethink how healthcare environments could be designed, delivered, and adapted for the future.
Working alongside architectural firm, EwingCole and Falkbuilt Morristown, Northwell transformed a 15,000-square-foot industrial shell into a modern cardiology clinic featuring exam rooms, echocardiography suites, point-of-care laboratories, office space, conference rooms, and welcoming patient areas.
“It all comes down to relationships,” says Christopher Botsch, R.A., Directory of Design, Central Region at Northwell Health. “We all really worked as a collaborative team to reach a goal.”
Mary Frazier, Principal at EwingCole, echoed that sentiment. “From my perspective, it was trust. Trust in all parties.”
That shared trust became the foundation for everything that followed.
Accelerating Healthcare Construction Through Design Assist
Northwell challenged the team to complete design and documentation in just three months and construct the clinic in only eight months while creating a repeatable model for future healthcare projects.
“The expedited schedule was presented to the team right from the beginning,” says Frazier. “There had to be different thinking about how we were going to design and deliver the project within the shorter timeframe.”
For Botsch, the schedule was about more than construction. “This was all about speed to market. Everything we were doing hinged on another project inside the hospital, so getting this clinic open sooner was critical.”
The goal was not simply to build faster — it was to create a smarter process that balanced speed, cost, flexibility and long-term value.
Healthcare Design Assist in Action
Northwell brought Falkbuilt into the project early through Design Assist, combining collaborative planning with Falkbuilt’s Echo technology platform. Architects, designers, builders and technical specialists were able to coordinate solutions digitally before construction began, allowing key decisions to happen earlier in the process and reducing the risk of delays later. Through the Design Assist process, the team coordinated several project-specific solutions, including 17-foot Falkbuilt’s Super Stud framing in the corridors. By resolving these details early in design, the project maintained schedule certainty while delivering the tall corridor spaces envisioned by the design team.
“Having Falkbuilt involved early to document the space was really helpful from the design team’s perspective,” says Kela Bogaard, Senior Interior Designer at EwingCole. “It saved us time in documentation, and those drawings moved directly into shop drawings that were fast-tracked for approval.”
Behind that collaboration was Echo, Falkbuilt’s cloud-based digital construction platform, which connected design, engineering, manufacturing and installation teams throughout the project. Rather than recreating drawings or waiting for information to move between teams, project data flowed through a connected digital workflow. Everyone worked from the same coordinated information, improving accuracy, accelerating approvals and maintaining momentum from design through installation.
From Falkbuilt’s perspective, collaboration was equally important. Branch Principal, Akua Lesesne remembers: “Design Assist gave us the opportunity to bring the right people together early, resolve challenges before construction began, and keep everyone aligned around the same vision. That’s what allowed us to move quickly without compromising the design.” The project incorporated Falkbuilt solid walls, doors, integrated millwork and EVAC vacuum plumbing to create a flexible healthcare environment designed for future change.
Collaboration That Reduced Risk
“We’ve been working with Northwell for more than 30 years, and I’ve worked with Akua for over 15 years,” says Frazier. “I knew she was committed to getting the work done the way she promised.”
Phil Zimmerman, Project Architect at EwingCole, credits the collaborative process with preserving the original vision. “The Falkbuilt team really went above and beyond. The finished work stayed remarkably true to the original design intent.”
Zimmerman also noted that involving Falkbuilt’s technical and installation specialists early helped resolve issues before they reached the field, reducing rework and maintaining project momentum. With Echo providing a single source of coordinated project information, architects, engineers, manufacturing teams and installers were able to identify and resolve potential conflicts before construction began, keeping the project moving efficiently while protecting the design intent.
Faster Healthcare Construction with Echo Technology
The CFAM Cardiology Clinic was designed in three months and constructed in eight months, approximately four months faster than a conventional approach.
“We finished with about a one percent premium, but we opened two months sooner,” says Botsch.
Early coordination, combined with Echo’s connected digital workflow, reduced downstream revisions and compressed the approval process. Rather than handing information from one team to the next, the project progressed through a seamless digital process linking design, manufacturing and installation. The result was not only a completed clinic delivered ahead of schedule, but also a Digital Asset that will continue supporting future renovations, maintenance and operational planning.
Delivering the Design Vision
Months after completion, Botsch was preparing a presentation when he reviewed the project imagery. “I couldn’t tell whether I was looking at a rendering or a photograph. The project turned out exactly as we’d envisioned it, and since the team moved in, I haven’t heard a single complaint.”
Zimmerman agrees. “As designers, there’s always a slight step away from the original design intent as projects move through construction. On this project, the finished work came remarkably close to what we set out to achieve.”
Creating a Digital Asset for Future Healthcare Renovations
Healthcare facilities must continually evolve as technology advances, care models shift and patient needs change.
Because every component was coordinated through Falkbuilt’s Echo technology platform, the project delivered far more than a completed clinic — it created a living Digital Asset. Every wall, door, millwork component and utility connection is digitally documented, preserving the intelligence of the original project long after construction is complete.
When departments expand, equipment changes or future renovations are required, facility teams can begin with accurate building information instead of starting from scratch. That reduces uncertainty, minimizes rework, shortens project schedules and helps protect the original investment over the life of the facility.
The CFAM Cardiology Clinic demonstrates what is possible when owners, architects, designers and builders share the same vision from day one. Supported by Design Assist, strengthened through trusted relationships and connected by Echo technology, the project delivered more than an accelerated schedule. It created a smarter, more adaptable healthcare environment built to serve patients today, and evolve for whatever comes next.