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
| Aug 11, 2010
Rehabilitation center helps patients transition
Construction is under way on the Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Center on the VA Medical Center campus in Richmond, Va. The $8 million, 22,000-sf facility will provide physical therapy, housing, and education to veterans as part of their transition back into their communities. The center was designed by HDR, Alexandria, Va.
| Aug 11, 2010
Medical office building planned in Fort Worth, Texas
Dallas-based TGS Architects has unveiled its design for the five-story, 130,000-sf Plaza Medical Office Building, planned for Fort Worth, Texas. The Class A development will include space for orthopedic care, surgery, breast center, diagnostic imaging, cardiovascular, and rehabilitation therapy services.
| Aug 11, 2010
Philadelphia cancer center seeks LEED certification
The New York office of Thornton Tomasetti provided structural engineering services for the Ruth and Raymond Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine in Philadelphia, a $232 million medical research center and advanced treatment center for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Designed by a joint venture of Perkins Eastman Architects and Rafael Vinõly Architects, the 340,000-sf facility will hous...
| Aug 11, 2010
High-level NICU opens in Washington, D.C.
Design to the highest distinction available by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the new Level IIIC neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C., is equipped to care for the sickest premature babies, including those that require open-heart surgery. The 54-bed facility, designed by Karlsberger with KLMK Group as space planner, is four times large...
| Aug 11, 2010
San Bernardino health center doubles in size
Temecula, Calif.-based EDGE was awarded the contract for California State University San Bernardino's health center renovation and expansion. The two-phase, $4 million project was designed by RSK Associates, San Francisco, and includes an 11,000-sf, tilt-up concrete expansion—which doubles the size of the facility—and site and infrastructure work.
| Aug 11, 2010
New hospital expands Idaho healthcare options
Ascension Group Architects, Arlington, Texas, is designing a $150 million replacement hospital for Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho. An existing facility will be renovated as part of the project. The new six-story, 320-000-sf complex will house 187 beds, along with an intensive care unit, a cardiovascular care unit, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgical suites, rehabilitation clinic, and ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Manhattan's Gouverneur Healthcare Services tops out renovation, expansion
One year after breaking ground, the Building Team for the renovation and expansion of the Gouverneur Healthcare Services facility on Manhattan's Lower East Side topped out the $180 million project. Designed by New York-based RMJM, the development involves a 316,000-sf renovation and 108,000-sf addition that will house a 295-bed nursing facility and five-story ambulatory care center.
| Aug 11, 2010
Decline expected as healthcare slows, but hospital work will remain steady
The once steady 10% growth rate in healthcare construction spending has slowed, but hasn't entirely stopped. Spending is currently 1.7% higher than the same time last year when construction materials costs were 8% higher. The 2.5% monthly jobsite spending decline since last fall is consistent with the decline in materials costs.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction under way on LEED Platinum DOE energy lab
Centennial, Colo.-based Haselden Construction has topped out the $64 million Research Support Facilities, located on the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) campus in Golden, Colo. Designed by RNL and Stantec to achieve LEED Platinum certification and net zero energy performance, the 218,000-sf facility will feature natural ventilation through operable ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Stimulus funding helps get NOAA project off the ground
The award-winning design for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s new Southwest Fisheries Science Center replacement laboratory saw its first sign of movement last month with a groundbreaking ceremony held in La Jolla, Calif. The $102 million project is funded primarily by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.