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Architect Dina Castro shares key phases in creating new units
The expansion plan of the OralMED Health Group continues to move forward. Very soon, the populations of Laranjeiro, Viseu, and Moita will have more reasons to Smile for Life. They will gain access to contemporary dental services in clinical units prepared to meet all their treatment needs. Understand the work behind preparing and maintaining the clinical spaces of the OralMED Health Group and learn about the main phases of creating new units through this interview with Architect Dina Castro, Infrastructure Director of the Portuguese group.
Why does the first Portuguese group specialized in Dental Medicine have an Infrastructure Department?
- The Infrastructure Department was created to elevate the quality standard of OralMED Health Group's own clinics. And, of course, also the spaces for support areas that accompany the Group's growth: Laboratories, Offices, and Academies. We exist to ensure the conservation and maintenance of spaces and their optimization. This includes functionality, choice of materials, and always respecting the Group's identity.
Often, implementing a new project can be challenging, especially in the healthcare sector. To ensure the best functioning of each space, so that our Patients and clinical teams can make the most of the units, various studies are necessary. It's an extremely meticulous work that has gradually gained new dimensions with the group's expansion, which is why internal management of these types of projects brings many benefits.
So, the Infrastructure Department plays a key role in opening new clinics, correct?
- Yes. We end up working actively not only in maintaining the group's clinics but also in preparing the units for their opening. We have to keep up with the expansion to add value to the group as a whole: in quality, trust, and well-being that is transmitted, not only to Patients but also to all employees who are part of the constantly growing OralMED HEALTH universe.
What are the main phases in creating a new clinic?
- The secret behind opening a functional clinic is to uncover all the secrets before moving forward with the project. In other words, it's about conducting rigorous strategic planning to avoid loose ends before proceeding with any construction. Generally, we can divide the planning into three main stages. First, the selection of the space. Then, the definition of the layout and the execution project. In this phase, we define the plans for each unit, design 3D models, and conceive the entire clinic. It's complex work, where we have to combine the characteristics of the space with the needs of each unit. Finally, we move on to the construction, which we monitor from start to finish to verify that the work is executed correctly.
In the specific case of space selection, what criteria are taken into account?
- We always pay attention to various details that make a difference for our Patients. We're talking about accessibility issues and proximity to the population. For this, we seek to select the best possible location, without architectural barriers and with the necessary areas to implement the clinical program. Combining these parameters is the main difficulty in finding spaces. And, often, it leads us to make less obvious decisions for new clinics. For example, we've already transformed several former bank branches into clinics. This brought challenges, but it ended up working out very well and resulting in perfectly functional clinics. Not only from the teams' point of view but also for patient comfort. In some cases, we even kept the safes of previous occupants, as they fit well with the spaces and didn't detract from functionality. Proximity to Patients, to places close to their daily routines, is fundamental to make Dental Medicine more accessible and ensure the Oral Health of populations. The subsequent adaptation of spaces, due to the level of specialization we already have internally in these types of projects, always ends up being successful, whether with a greater or lesser degree of difficulty.
About the OralMED Health Group
The OralMED Health Group is the first Portuguese group specialized in Dental Medicine. With over 12 years of experience and a leader in the sector, it already has more than 60 own clinics, four laboratories, a training academy, and employs about 1200 employees and more than 350 dentists.
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