Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Handbook 7610 (262)
Washington, DC 20420
June 2006
S. Room Efficiency Factor: A factor that provides flexibility in the utilization of a room to
account for patient delays, scheduling conflicts, and equipment maintenance. Common
factors are in the 80 to 85% range. A room with 80% room efficiency provides a buffer
to assume that this room would be available 20% of the time beyond the planned
operational practices of the room. This factor may be adjusted based on the actual
and/or anticipated operations and processes of the room / department.
T. SEPS (VA-SEPS): Acronym for Space and Equipment Planning System, a digital tool
developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs
to generate a Program for Design (PFD) and an Equipment List for a VA healthcare
project based on specific information entered in response to Input Data Questions. VA-
SEPS incorporates the propositions set forth in this chapter as well as all chapters in
VA's Handbook 7610. VA-SEPS has been designed to aid healthcare planners in
creating a space plan based on a standardized set of criteria parameters.
U. Workload: Workload is the anticipated number of procedures or suite stops that is
processed through a department/service area. The total workload applied to
departmental operational assumptions will determine overall room requirements by
modality.
3
OPERATING RATIONALE AND BASIS OF CRITERIA
A. Workload projections or planned services / modalities for a specific VA medical center,
hospital or satellite outpatient clinic project are provided by the VA Central Office
(VACO) / VISN CARES Capacity Projection Model. Workload projections are generated
by methodology based upon the expected veteran population in the respective market /
service area. Health care planners working on new or renovation projects for VA
medical centers, hospitals or satellite outpatient clinics, shall utilize workload and other
criteria set forth herein to generate a space program for each project.
B. Space Planning Criteria have been developed on the basis of an understanding of the
activities involved in the functional areas of Ambulatory Care (Hospital Based) and their
relationship with other services of a medical facility. These criteria are based on
established and/or anticipated best practice standards as adapted to provide
environments supporting the highest quality health care for Veterans.
C. Room capacity calculation per year should be based on:
Operating days per year x Hours of operation per day
= Number of
Minutes per clinic stop / 60 minutes
annual clinic stops
1. The general planning model for VA facilities assumes 250 Operating Days per Year
and 8 Hours of Operation per Day. Room capacity will fluctuate as hours of
operation are modified, i.e., additional capacity may be generated by extending the
daily hours of operation within the same physical setting.
2. Basic Room Efficiency Factor selected is 80%.
Example: Assume a clinic stop that averages 32 minutes per clinic stop
250 operating days per year x 8 hours of operation per day
= 3,750 annual
Ambulatory Care (Hospital Based) (262):-Page 5 of 31
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