Construction--still booming.

The 2007 Hospital Building Survey shows no letup in construction. But some experts see signs of a slowdown.

2006 hospital building report. The boom goes on.

Our survey of construction trends finds that the most significant expansion and replacement of U.S. hospitals since the post-World War II building spree continues to fuel a red-hot market. And the building boom is likely to last through the rest of the decade.

A good, old-fashioned building boom.

After a decade of little activity, the pace of hospital construction began to surge in 2000 and it shows no signs of slowing down soon. Aging facilities, staffing issues and consumer demands are fueling the boom. And hospital leaders are betting their new facilities will be flexible enough to accommodate ever-changing technology.

Better, not bigger. Construction costs soar on wings of patient demand, construction & design survey finds.

Even though the number of construction projects remained flat in 1998, overall spending jumped 29% to nearly $15 billion, according to this year's Construction & Design Survey. Outpatient facilities remained in strong demand, increasing 17% compared with last year's survey.

1997 construction & design survey.

Managed care might seem to be putting a damper on healthcare construction, but in fact it's one of several industry changes creating opportunities for architectural and design firms. One example of a trend toward making surroundings as pleasant as possible is the west campus expansion at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler (left). Designed and built by Ellerbe Becket and completed in 1995, the project, including a nine-story medical office building, features artwork and rooftop gardens.

1996 construction & design survey.

Healthcare providers may not be investing as much capital in design and construction as they used to, but there's still plenty of activity in the facility management departments. Projects are smaller, and tight budgets are forcing facilities to spend less on more projects.

Street wise. Wall Street: where health care is suddenly hot.

With market-driven reform sweeping the health care field, Wall Street is betting on those hospital systems that are revamping themselves for cost-effectiveness and demonstrated value to payers. Analysts are encouraged by such markers as overcapacity shrinkage, full-asset mergers and hospital swaps. And they're positively bullish on Columbia/HCA.