Healthcare Design - June/July 2021 - 16

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HE CHEROKEE INDIAN HOSPITAL AUTHORITY (CIHA)
in Cherokee, N.C., sought to provide more streamlined
care for members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians (EBCI) who require mental, behavioral, or
emotional health or substance abuse services. To help
achieve that goal, the organization built a replacement
facility for its Cherokee Indian Hospital in 2015, where
crisis care is provided in the emergency department
(ED), followed in 2018 by Kanvwotiyi, a 20-bed residential treatment center
in Graham County, N.C., which houses inpatient treatment and programs
for adults. But a void remained: a secure, safe environment where
these patients could be stabilized before being transferred from the hospital
to residential care. The solution would help alleviate the prolonged use
of ED beds for inpatient behavioral health needs and provide a designated
space for mental health care services. " It was decided that if we really wanted
to help and provide treatment for this community, we needed an entire
continuum of services, " says Casey Cooper, CEO of CIHA.
CIHA decided to build an addition on campus, but the former 1970sera
hospital stood in the way, with part of the vacated building still being
used for administrative and storage space. Working with architecture firm
McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture (Charlotte, N.C.) and construction
management firm Robins & Morton (Birmingham, Ala.), leadership next
JUNE/JULY 2021
HCDMAGAZINE.COM
LEFT: A two-story atrium
serves as the spine of
the hospital and ties
into the outpatient
behavioral health clinic.
Symbols and visual cues
that illustrate the story
of a local legend are
displayed in the artwork
and terrazzo flooring.
BELOW: Enclosed
clinical workstations
are utilized to support
communication between
patients and staff
while limiting access
to potentially harmful
objects on the work
surface.
considered demolishing the 77,000-square-foot
hospital but soon realized it would be too expensive.
Instead, says Josh Farr, superintendent at
Robins & Morton, the team ultimately opted to
tear down only part of the building, salvaging
and renovating 34,000 square feet for continued
administrative use and adding 43,000 square
feet to create an outpatient clinic and crisis unit
that connects to the main hospital-a move that
saved approximately $1 million.
Opened in June 2020, the addition's first floor
houses a behavioral health outpatient clinic
with 13 counseling rooms, an exam room, small
and large group rooms, and two large classrooms.
The second-floor crisis stabilization unit
comprises 18 inpatient rooms for behavioral
health patients, four acute-care patient rooms
that are equipped to support someone in a
health crisis, and two large group therapy rooms.
To ensure the building fit in on campus and
reflects the EBCI culture, the project team met
regularly with a committee of tribal members
and elders to seek input. " Exterior cultural symbols,
materials, and elements match the Cherokee
Indian Hospital seamlessly to convey the
message that the programs contained inside
are equally important to the mission and vision
of the facility, " says Christie Adams, healthcare
segment leader and project manager at McMillan
Pazdan Smith Architecture. For example, the
design of the terrazzo flooring in the entry area
and main corridor at the hospital illustrates a
local legend-a detail that's carried into the new
addition with the legend of a magic lake represented
in the flooring. On the exterior, a unique
motif depicting the symbol for wind matches
the new hospital's exterior. " The addition looks
like it has always been a part of the campus, " Farr
says.-Tracey Walker, managing editor
WARNER PHOTOGRAPHY
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