Trends

There are several forces at play right now that are putting behavioral health projects on the front burner for many organizations.

“The economics, understanding, and science of behavioral healthcare is changing,” said Frank Murdock Pitts, founding partner and president of Architecture+ (Troy, N.Y.), who was named The Center for Health Design’s Changemaker during the 2018 Healthcare Design Expo & Conference this past November in Phoenix. “I think we’re in a moment where we’re about to change everything,” he said during the on-stage presentation.

Pitts has dedicated his career to the design of behavioral health environments and added that the evolution in thinking taking place now is allowing more patients to be identified and brought into treatment earlier. That, in turn, is creating demand for facilities that can treat and address the needs of a broader spectrum of patients at different stages in their care journey.

It’s an exciting time to be a part of this shift, as healthcare design teams and their provider partners are delivering a new generation of behavioral health environments. On the inpatient side, we’re seeing projects that thoughtfully include natural light and access to nature, comfortable residential finishes, and more control for patients. In the outpatient arena, projects include spaces that support integrated care teams so that primary care physicians can collaborate with behavioral health professionals and patient consults can be done immediately on-site.

Below, find recent articles from Healthcare Design that offer examples of the different solutions being introduced via design to transform behavioral health environments and support current care delivery trends.

• 6 Behavioral Health Design Trends
  Healthcare providers across the country are exploring not just growing behavioral health services but integrating them within other care environments. Six trends are shaping required design solutions.
• PHOTO TOUR: Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center Building
  The vertical expansion and renovation houses a mental health clinic trauma recovery program, the Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom therapy programs, and a telemedicine psychotherapy program.
• HCD Expo Changemaker Keynote: Answering The Call
  Frank Murdock Pitts was honored at the 2018 Expo for a career spent shining a light on the importance of improving behavioral healthcare design
• PHOTO TOUR: Virginia Treatment Center for Children
  The 119,000-square-foot facility, opened in April 2018, provides crisis stabilization and psychiatric care for young patients.
• Bridging The Gap  
  Integrating behavioral health and primary care requires more than just bringing providers together.
• PHOTO TOUR: Surrey Memorial Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Stabilization Unit
  The 5,920-square-foot unit, which opened in May 2017, features dimmable lighting, soothing graphics, and flexible furniture options to create a calm, homelike setting for children and teens.
• 3 Technology Features To Improve Behavioral Health Environments
  New materials, lighting, and safety features are making behavioral health facilities safer and better for healing.
• Answering The Call For Behavioral Healthcare In Pediatric Facilities
  An influx of behavioral healthcare patients coming into pediatric hospitals is driving organizations to re-evaluate where—and how—they deliver services to this specialty population.
• FIRST LOOK: Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion
  The 386,000-square-foot building will be located on the hospital’s main campus and is expected to open in 2020
• A Careful Response
  There are 10 major drivers influencing new design solutions for mental healthcare environments.
• Safe Haven: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  A new inpatient unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offers a specialized environment for patients with both medical and behavioral health needs.
• PHOTO TOUR: Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services
  Pine Rest’s new unit is able to serve 1,200 more adolescents and young adults annually, in a facility designed to be welcoming, flexible, therapeutic and safe.
• Safe Haven: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  A new inpatient unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offers a specialized environment for patients with both medical and behavioral health needs.