ABSTRACT
Health facilities are among our oldest institutions. They have been shaped throughout history by their purpose and sponsorship; by political, social, technical, and economic considerations; by perceptions of need; and by the knowledge of the time. Health facility programming is an analytical, creative, and systematic process. It requires definition of the problem and development of integrated functional, environmental, and operational solutions to the problem that best fit within the institution's philosophy and within given constraints. Health planning occurs at federal, state, regional health systems agency (HSA), and institutional levels. Planning establishes institutional role and services. Programming establishes facility requirements. There are two essential elements of a facility program, one to do with building characteristics and another to do with the content of the building. All analytical models are solution oriented, simulation models express solutions in terms of phenomena, empirical models are based on existing solutions to particular problems, conceptual models can be constructed at every level of health facility programming.
