Insights & Solutions

Design interventions to improve well-being for patients with behavioral and mental health (BMH) conditions will often have impacts on other populations, as well (e.g., staff, visitors, non-BMH patients who use the same facility). This tool will help you consider those broader impacts and incorporate them into an evidence-based process for a universal design approach.  

Inside you will learn about: why behavioral health facilities have very different design requirements than general hospitals; how different areas of a behavioral health unit have different safety needs that influence design choices; and which types of safety measures and products should be incorporated into behavioral health units.

Inside you will learn about: why relationships are at the heart of successful psychiatric treatment strategies; how effective designs can facilitate positive interactions between clinicians and patients; and the benefits of using a community treatment model that allows patients to access services in carefully designed “neighborhood treatment malls.”

Inside you will learn about: the challenges in identifying best practices in the built environment for behavioral healthcare; where architects and designers can start when working on projects for behavioral health facilities; and the differences between behavioral health and medical settings.

The Safety Risk Assessment (SRA) Toolkit is:

a proactive process that can mitigate risk a discussion prompt for a multidisciplinary team an evidence-based design (EBD) approach to identify solutions.

The SRA targets six areas of safety (infections, falls, medication errors, security, injuries of behavioral health, and patient handling) as required in the FGI Guidelines.

WHY USE THIS SRA?

Trzpuc, S. J., Wendt, K. A., Heitzman, S. C., Skemp, S., Thomas, D., & Dahl, R. (2016). Does space matter? An exploratory study for a child–adolescent mental health inpatient unit. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 10(1), 23-44.

Bayramzadeh, S. (2017). An assessment of levels of safety in psychiatric units. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 10(2), 66-80.

The goal of this project was to challenge the aesthetic typically associated with a forensic detention facility and support the client’s healing process by using color to enhance the environment and improve the staff work environment.

The goal of this project was to embody integration and openness, to provide a safe and welcoming environment for long-term mental health patients, and to promote healing and independence for patients in their recovery journeys.