Healthcare Design - June/July 2020 - 24

as provide staff with a place to step off the unit
for a break or to collect themselves when necessary. "It's about staff safety as well as satisfaction and retention," she says.
GETTING OUT AHEAD

J U N E /J U LY 2 0 2 0

Worcester Recovery
Center and Hospital
in Worcester, Mass.,
designed by Ellenzweig
and Architecture+,
features a village green
and "downtown" activity
areas for patients. The
space is inspired by
a street in Venice,
adding an aspirational
element to the healing
environment.

Anne DiNardo is executive editor of Healthcare
Design. She can be reached at A N N E . D I N A R D O @
EMERALDX.COM.

MORE ONLINE: For more information
and photos on recent behavioral health
facilities, including some of the projects mentioned
in this article, visit HCDmagazine.com/projects/
behavioral-health.

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

ELLENZWEIG

mirroring another trend seen in other healthcare environments. Additionally, Holmes says clients are recognizing the importance of giving patients a sense of control within patient bedrooms or quiet rooms where
they can go to calm down or be alone. "We take away their shoes, their
belt, cell phone, anything that can be a potential risk-sometimes against
their will," Holmes says. "So what can we do to give back some sense of
control?" Among the strategies he's seeing employed is incorporating
color-changing lights or music controls in patient rooms or quiet rooms.
Another change impacting behavioral health design is the growth in
community spaces, including day rooms, patient lounges, and activity
rooms, which can accommodate different therapies or group activities.
And while these settings are found in other healthcare facilities, on a behavioral health inpatient project, teams must also consider such factors
as spatial and social density. For example, cramped spaces and a higher
number of patients within an area can contribute to increased stress
among patients and lead to more aggression and violence. "As a result, we
typically space furniture farther apart and talk about smaller clusters of
seating within an area and/or providing a number of smaller spaces designed for one to two patients," Holmes notes.
Strategies addressing staff work environments and safety are also
evolving. For example, some facilities are choosing to reconfigure team
stations to break down that barrier between staff and patients to encourage more interaction and support patient-centered care strategies. (For
more on these approaches, see "Building Alignment" on page 36.) McMurray says she also encourages facilities to consider the use of onstage/
offstage layouts, which can be used to bring ancillary, pharmacy, and dietary services to a unit safely without interacting with patients, as well

Looking to the future, many design professionals say issues including the current opioid crisis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and
the rise in childhood suicide rates will keep
mental health services in demand, while recognizing the challenges the industry faces
with a shortage of providers, inpatient beds,
and ongoing issues related to funding and parity with reimbursements. Holmes says he acknowledges that organizations that offer services have been "very innovative in how they
stretch their dollars," but says more innovation is needed, particularly in outpatient programs and facilities, crisis centers, and transitional residential facilities.
Many experts point to the lessons in telehealth gleaned from the COVID-19 pandemic
as a possible solution for improving care access,
including to rural and underserved areas. Selke
also sees the need for a more comprehensive
system that focuses on delivering care earlier,
especially to children and adolescents. "I think
that getting out ahead of this and providing better services for children is an important longterm outlook," he says.
Pitts says he'd like to see more conversations about the models of care that proceed
hospitalization, including early diagnosis and
treatment in community settings, to improve
outcomes and reduce need for longer-term
hospitalization. "If that does happen, then
20 years out it will create a really significant
change [in the system]," he says. "This is a disease that's so debilitating and there are so many
people suffering from it, and I think we're starting to understand what it really costs us not to
treat it or not treat it well." 

http://www.HCDmagazine.com/projects/behavioral-health http://www.HCDmagazine.com/projects/behavioral-health http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM

Healthcare Design - June/July 2020

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