Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process.
Issue link: https://mcdmag.epubxp.com/i/509247
7.2 days Average length of hospital stay for mental disorders. Mood disorders such as depression are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults ages 18-44. BY VINCE AVALLONE, KEVIN DAY & REBECCA KLEINBAUM SANDERS | PHOTOS BY BERNARD ANDRÉ Clinical approaches to diagnosing and treating behavioral health and mental illness have been evolving over the past 20 years with ongoing improve- ments in treatment and medications. Often a misunderstood disease, mental illness is slowly losing its social stigma through greater public awareness and education. Rather than treating all clients the same in large institutional settings, healthcare organizations are turning toward smaller-scale settings that ad- dress clients' individual needs in the recovery process. Today's newer be- havioral health facilities more closely resemble the homes in which clients will live upon leaving. These smaller residences reduce social isolation and create a more natural environment as clients move through successive levels of care toward eventual independent living in the community. The evolution of the mental health industry is following changes in the general healthcare industry, in which several clear trends are impacting the planning and design of behavioral health facilities, and in turn creating a more positive public awareness of mental illness. The Af ordable Care Act has brought mental illness up front. Mental health is now part of insurance The exterior stucco and wood siding at Hope House, operated by Contra Costa County Behavioral Health Services in northern California, project a residential appearance, appropriate to its wooded hillside setting near a residential neighborhood. Hope House interior features designed to project homelike comfort include hardwood fl oors, pocket seating areas for impromptu conversations and carpeted bedrooms with operable windows overlooking the lush hillside site. Evolving approaches to planning behavioral health facilities DESIGNING FOR DIGNITY MCDM AG.COM | M AY/ J U N E 2015 | Medical Construction & Design 27