Insights & Solutions

This webinar explores how out of a vision from renowned child psychiatrist and human geneticist Dr. Matthew State, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Child, Teen & Family Center and Department of Psychiatry Building will be the first-ever UCSF facility for both pediatric and adult psychiatric patients and one of the first facilities in the U.S. to integrate the neurosciences with traditional psychiatry for child, adolescent and adult patient populations. 

As part of the Behavioral & Mental Health toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about the prevalence of behavioral and mental health conditions as comorbidities; design strategies for promoting psychological wellness; and a systematic benefit analysis approach to meet the psychological needs of all.

What message does your Emergency Department (ED) send to patients who step through the doors? If it isn’t a comprehensively welcoming one, you could be increasing patient and family stress levels before they’ve even begun assessment or treatment. As overcrowding in EDs and awareness of the consequences grows within the healthcare industry, it’s crucial to begin taking steps to improve your care environment for staff and patients.

The following are compiled from research literature, case studies, interviews, and other materials to provide an overview on the topic of aging populations.  

Learn about: how innovative design can be achieved at the same or similar cost, how design can result in a well-regarded community landmark, and how community-based care improves patient use and compliance with regimens.

Learn about: how talking rooms can complement consultation-based care, how workstation design can help balance a team-based care approach and staff retention efforts, and how design can maximize the accessibility to transportation and community amenities.

The goal for this project was to create a patient-centered healthcare facility, using EBD, objectives include: wayfinding integrated into the architecture, zoned circulation - separation of on-stage and off-stage flow, and clear access to patient care areas with minimal travel distances. 

The goal for this project was to have the interdisciplinary design team pursue the creation of a total environment of care with the following objectives: reduce patient and visitor stress, reduce wait times and improve flow, improve staff sightlines both for security as well as clinical care, and capture natural light and views of nature at an urban edge. 

Behavioral health settings guided by strict safety design measures often result in spaces that are stark, plain, and isolated - potentially exacerbating environmental stressors and escalating already difficult patient situations. Acute care emergency settings have a particular set of challenges as EDs are predicting increased visits from behavioral health patients. Faced with the challenge of designing a behavioral health care setting in the Emergency Department at UnityPoint Health in Rock Island, IL, the project team hypothesized that the creation of a Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) with a “Living Room Concept” would provide a higher quality of care to patients while assisting in the staff’s ability to quickly consult and treat a diverse set of patients entering the ED. 

When you think of your organization’s setting, you probably focus on its visual and functional aesthetics. But do you also connect the design approach to the logistics of the communication that occurs in the space? If not, you could be missing some very real opportunities for improvement, since research reveals that the two can be closely linked.

As the focus in healthcare hones in more and more on that all-essential interaction between physicians and patients, you’ll want to be more aware of how your design choices facilitate such meaningful communication.