Healthcare Design - September 2024 - 25

Clinician
DR. MATTHEW STATE
MD, PhD, Oberndorf Family Distinguished Professor, chair of
the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the
University of California San Francisco, and director of the Langley
Porter Psychiatric Institute (San Francisco)
D
R. MATTHEW STATE joined the faculty
at the University of California San
Francisco (UCSF) in 2013. He is a
child and adolescent psychiatrist
and human geneticist, and his research
focuses on understanding the genetic
contribution to autism spectrum disorders and
other neurodevelopmental syndromes.
Outside the lab, as the chair of one of the leading
departments of psychiatry in the country,
he's advancing behavioral health and health
equity broadly through the department's commitment
to clinical care, research, education,
and public service. He and his colleagues in the
neurosciences at UCSF have focused on collaboration,
breaking down silos separating medical
disciplines and consolidating expertise from
across specialties and departments to advance
disease prevention, patient-centered care, and
the discovery of a new treatments.
Specifically, State was a driving force behind
the creation of the UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker
Psychiatry Building, opened in spring 2022. The
173,000-square-foot building serves as a nexus
for brain health at UCSF, bringing physical and
mental health programs and researchers from
across the university together for the first time
in UCSF's history. During planning and design,
State and the project team engaged more than
100 faculty from disparate specialties in discussions
and design charettes to consider how the
UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building
aspirations for the building might set a new standard
for the integration of mental health into
an academic medical center. And they hoped,
more broadly, to " fl ip the narrative about what it
means to seek psychiatric care, " State says.
The message begins with a light-filled atrium
designed to create a sense of openness and connection
by providing visibility into the operations
of the building, including the waiting areas,
consult rooms, dry labs, open-plan workspaces,
and staff lounges that are arranged on various
levels around the atrium. Additionally, the
building foregoes traditional palettes for mental
health spaces with a bright, uplifting aesthetic
using natural materials, colors, and textures that
evoke the Bay Area region.
Furthermore, security features are integrated
into the design, such as 6-foot-tall glass guardrails
installed along the atrium to create a barrier
to deter potential suicide attempts, without
obscuring views, or using reception desks that
double as security stations.
Since opening, the building has been transformative,
State says. " Our patient, staff and
faculty surveys have seen remarkable improvement.
The proximity of research, clinical care,
and education is very exciting, and the building
has become a hub of activity for conferences,
meetings, and events for all of UCSF. It's very
satisfying to have become such a popular space
on campus-it's not a position that most departments
of psychiatry are used to. "
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BRUCE DAMONTE PHOTOGRAPHY (INTERIOR); SUSAN MERRELL/UCSF (HEADSHOT); JE48 - STOCK.ADOBE.COM (HEADER ARTWORK)

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Healthcare Design - September 2024

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