Healthcare construction costs are continuing to climb — and according to a recent article in Health Facilities Management (HFM), those pressures are expected to continue.
In the article, “Facility Costs Rise Heading Into 2026,” author Adam Raimond reports that healthcare construction costs increased another 2.2% to 2.4% in the second half of 2025, continuing a multi-year trend of rising infrastructure expenses.
One detail stands out for sterile processing and facilities leaders:
“Plumbing material costs rose 8% to 9% in the last six months of 2025.”
That matters because water quality compliance — especially under ANSI/AAMI ST108 — is no longer simply an equipment discussion.
It is an infrastructure discussion.
And increasingly, hospitals are discovering that trying to “save money upfront” on Critical Water systems can become far more expensive later.
The Hidden Cost of “We’ll Figure It Out Later”
At VERDA, we frequently meet with hospitals after they have already attempted a low-cost, minimal effort alternative.
Sometimes that means:
- Installing a basic RO system without a complete water management strategy
- Using a vendor unfamiliar with sterile processing requirements
- Designing plumbing without considering ST108 expectations
- Retrofitting existing infrastructure without long-term planning
- Treating water quality as an isolated purchase instead of a system-wide operational issue
Initially, those decisions may appear less expensive. But over time, the hidden costs begin to emerge:
- Failed water tests
- Repeated service calls
- Operational downtime
- Delayed SPD workflows
- Inconsistent final rinse water quality
- Rework during construction
- Infrastructure modifications after installation
- Unclear ownership between departments and vendors
In many cases, hospitals end up paying twice: Once for the “cheaper” solution and again to correct the problem properly
ST108 Is Changing the Conversation
Historically, many hospitals viewed water quality as a background utility issue.
But ANSI/AAMI ST108 has shifted expectations dramatically.
Today, hospitals are expected to:
- Understand their water quality risks
- Monitor Critical Water performance
- Maintain documentation and response plans
- Coordinate between SPD, facilities, infection prevention, and leadership
- Ensure infrastructure supports ongoing compliance
That means the success or failure of a water quality program often depends on decisions made long before the first instrument is processed.
Including:
- Plumbing design
- Distribution loop planning
- Flow management
- Monitoring strategies
- Equipment sizing
- Redundancy planning
- Sanitization capabilities
- Expansion planning for future demand
The list could go on – and these are not decisions most general water vendors or plumbing contractors specialize in.
Why Facilities Teams Are Becoming Central to Water Quality
The HFM article reinforces something many hospitals are already experiencing internally:
Facilities departments are becoming critical stakeholders in SPD water quality.
Why?
Because water quality compliance increasingly touches:
- Plumbing infrastructure
- Utility coordination
- Construction budgets
- Renovation sequencing
- Preventive maintenance
- Risk management
- Long-term operational reliability
And in a rising-cost construction environment, mistakes become significantly more expensive to correct later.
In some U.S. markets cited in the article, hospital construction costs now exceed:
- $560 per square foot in San Francisco
- $550 per square foot in Philadelphia
- $500 per square foot in Boston and Los Angeles
At those cost levels, redesigns and retrofits are no longer minor inconveniences.
They become major capital events.
The Most Expensive Water System Is the One You Have to Rebuild
One of the most common misconceptions hospitals face is this:
“We already have an RO system, so we should be fine.”
But ST108 compliance is not achieved by simply installing equipment.
It requires:
- Proper system design
- Appropriate distribution
- Monitoring and testing strategies
- Risk mitigation planning
- Ongoing operational support
- Alignment between SPD and facilities
An inexpensive system that creates recurring operational problems is rarely inexpensive in the long run (or in the short run for that matter).
Especially when you factor:
- Labor disruption
- Construction rework
- Compliance pressure
- Instrument damage risk
- Operational inefficiencies
- Staff frustration
- Consultant costs
- Downtime during corrections
Getting It Right the First Time
As healthcare construction costs continue rising, hospitals are increasingly looking for partners who understand both:
- The technical side of water quality
- The operational realities inside sterile processing
That is where specialized healthcare water expertise matters. At VERDA, our focus is not simply selling equipment. It is helping hospitals:
- Design sustainable Critical Water strategies
- Avoid expensive retrofit mistakes
- Support long-term compliance goals
- Coordinate across SPD and facilities teams
- Build systems that are operationally practical — not just technically functional
Because in today’s healthcare environment, “good enough” infrastructure decisions often become tomorrow’s most expensive projects.
And when it comes to sterile processing water quality, getting it right the first time is almost always the less expensive option.