Newly named Vice President and Consulting Services Division Leader at Haskell, Kevin Meek might seem far from his roots as a registered nurse (RN). Instead, he sees this career step as another in a series of natural progressions.

“I became a nurse to make a difference in patients’ lives and be able to have an impact in those patients I directly cared for,” Meek said. “Then I became a leader and got away from the bedside a bit but had the ability to have an impact by making a difference for those who were caring for the patient.”

“That grew to the point where I now see healthcare consulting as an ability to help facilities design and create spaces that not only empower clinicians but also create an exceptional patient experience for years to come as they use these spaces. We’re helping create things that matter.”

In keeping with its pledge to Create Things That Matter, Haskell takes a holistic, collaborative approach to provide best-in-class solutions to clients’ facility needs. Meek said he has applied the same sort of whole-patient concept as an RN 15 years ago and throughout leadership roles with for-profit and non-profit health systems,

“My approach is to sit down with a client, use strategy and analytics, but also incorporate clinical/operational, post-occupancy evaluations and, really, consult not just from the beginning but from the beginning to the end,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing with Consulting Services.”

Meek, a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives, will lead the Consulting Division from its Charlotte, N.C., office and be based out of Gilbert, Ariz., in suburban Phoenix, as part of a strategically located nationwide consulting group.

He has a master’s degree in Healthcare Innovation from Arizona State University to pair with nursing, public speaking and organizational leadership degrees, offering a unique perspective and approach to clinical/operational/strategic integration and innovation. His career includes stints with multi-state, integrated health systems in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and other locations.

He has served in executive strategic and nursing leadership roles, operational and programmatic leadership, and strategic consultative and advisory roles with measurable results in multi-network healthcare transformation, outreach and business development, patient journey optimization, bed management, patient flow and certification preparation.

His experience will buttress Haskell’s standing as a trusted adviser to major health systems and further facilitate communication between involved parties, particularly clinical staff and architects. For example, the focus on patient-and family-centered care would benefit from the necessary space for families to be closer to patients, but it can’t infringe on the nursing staff’s daily work.

“My job is to interpret and translate and bring value out of that,” Meek said. “On some occasions, we’re planning spaces where you can’t understand the French when somebody else is speaking Italian. We hope to bridge that gap in various areas.”

Meanwhile, his broad-based background qualifies him uniquely to reach across Haskell’s vast range of expertise in planning, design, construction and operations and extend consulting services in markets not just in healthcare but in wastewater, consumer packaged goods and infrastructure.

“The vision of how we grow our Design and Consulting Services Group, while predominately in the healthcare sector now, is to provide more consulting services for all of Haskell’s sectors,” Meek said. “We have some of that in many of our accounts, and we’re working to formalize more structure.”

Haskell’s consultants look forward to discussing, collaborating and helping solve your facility challenges. Click here to contact us and start a conversation.