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
| Oct 13, 2010
New health center to focus on education and awareness
Construction is getting pumped up at the new Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado, Denver. The four-story, 94,000-sf building will focus on healthy lifestyles and disease prevention.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 12, 2010
Holton Career and Resource Center, Durham, N.C.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. Early in the current decade, violence within the community of Northeast Central Durham, N.C., escalated to the point where school safety officers at Holton Junior High School feared for their own safety. The school eventually closed and the property sat vacant for five years.
| Sep 13, 2010
Palos Community Hospital plans upgrades, expansion
A laboratory, pharmacy, critical care unit, perioperative services, and 192 new patient beds are part of Palos (Ill.) Community Hospital's 617,500-sf expansion and renovation.
| Sep 13, 2010
China's largest single-phase hospital planned for Shanghai
RTKL's Los Angles office is designing the Shanghai Changzheng New Pudong Hospital, which will be the largest new hospital built in China in a single phase.
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
Data Centers Keeping Energy, Security in Check
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation's largest commercial user of electric power. With major technology companies investing heavily in new data centers, it's no wonder Building Teams see these mission-critical facilities as a golden opportunity, and why they are working hard to keep energy costs at data centers in check.
| Aug 11, 2010
Green Guide for Health Care launches pilot program, looks for participants
In first quarter 2010, the Green Guide for Health Care, in collaboration with Practice Greenhealth, is launching a one-year Green Guide for Health Care Operations Pilot Program for healthcare organizations engaged in any or all aspects of green operations initiatives, based on Green Guide v2.2 Operations section.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
EwingCole to merge with healthcare specialist Robert D. Lynn Associates
EwingCole, a nationally recognized architectural, engineering, interior design, and planning firm with more than 320 professionals, today announced that it will combine its practice with Robert D. Lynn Associates of Philadelphia, a 40-person firm with a robust portfolio of healthcare projects. The combination will create the Delaware Valley¹s largest and most comprehensive firm with an emphasis on healthcare architecture, and a national scope and presence.
