During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, it became clear rather quickly that the healthcare system in the U.S. wasn’t flexible enough to handle the surge in patient capacity brought on by the spread of COVID-19. As hospitals and other medical facilities rethink their operations, future-ready patient services are likely to be more common.
Case in point: the two-story 20,800-sf West County Behavioral Health Center, which opened on March 9 in San Pablo, Calif. This standalone facility, next to the West County Health Center, moves behavioral health services out of a neighboring building. It has the capacity to treat 2,300 adult and 400 child patients annually.
Although not technically required for mental-health clinics, Contra Costa County decided to make the new building compliant with Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development 3 regulations for Administrative, Building, and MEP codes pertaining to licensed outpatient clinics. The county made this decision at the recommendation of HED, the design firm that co-led this design-build project with Overaa Construction. (HPS Architects completed the initial schematics.)
“HED believes that California’s commitment to regulating design and construction of healthcare buildings through OSHPD results in stronger, more resilient community infrastructure for health,” explains Tim Hurvitz, HED’s Healthcare Studio Leader. “Even given the time constraints and fast pace of the project, this decision was one that not all counties would have made, but we believe will provide great value long into the future.”
The new facility can treat 2,300 adult and 400 child patients annually.
MEETS THE STATE’S TOUGH SEISMIC REGS
The new building helps alleviate the main health center’s flow of patients for crisis counseling and brief therapy for specific behavioral issues. It also protects patients from contracting contagious illnesses that are often found at typical county health facilities.
Located in an active seismic zone, the building was designed to account for potential future seismic events. For example, a large vertical drift joint was incorporated, and hidden, within the design. The building, which was planned and designed in six months, meets California’s strict seismic requirements.
The LEED Silver-certified facility is distinguished by expansive glazing and colorful walls that are paired with different scales and patterns on the carpeted floors, which offer wayfinding and zoning.
Natural and artificial light combine to illuminate the clinic's lobby.
Related Stories
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Dec 10, 2013
Modular Pedia-Pod: Sustainability in healthcare construction [slideshow]
Greenbuild 2013 in Philadelphia was the site of a unique display—Pedia-Pod, a modular pediatric treatment room designed and built by NRB, in collaboration with the editors of Building Design+Construction, SGC Horizon LLC, and their team of medical design consultants.
| Dec 3, 2013
Creating a healthcare capital project plan: The truth behind the numbers
When setting up a capital project plan, it's one thing to have the data, but quite another to have the knowledge of the process.
| Nov 27, 2013
Pediatric hospitals improve care with flexible, age-sensitive design
Pediatric hospitals face many of the same concerns as their adult counterparts. Inpatient bed demand is declining, outpatient visits are soaring, and there is a higher level of focus on prevention and reduced readmissions.
| Nov 27, 2013
Exclusive survey: Revenues increased at nearly half of AEC firms in 2013
Forty-six percent of the respondents to an exclusive BD+C survey of AEC professionals reported that revenues had increased this year compared to 2012, with another 24.2% saying cash flow had stayed the same.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 27, 2013
LEED for Healthcare offers new paths to green
LEED for Healthcare debuted in spring 2011, and certifications are now beginning to roll in. They include the new Puyallup (Wash.) Medical Center and the W.H. and Elaine McCarty South Tower at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.
| Nov 25, 2013
Building Teams need to help owners avoid 'operational stray'
"Operational stray" occurs when a building’s MEP systems don’t work the way they should. Even the most well-designed and constructed building can stray from perfection—and that can cost the owner a ton in unnecessary utility costs. But help is on the way.
| Nov 19, 2013
Pediatric design in an adult hospital setting
Freestanding pediatric facilities have operational and physical characteristics that differ from those of adult facilities.
