Healthcare Design - January/February 2025 - 12

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behavioral health environments, the project
team also retrofitted the three exam rooms with
padded walls to create seclusion rooms; repurposed
a staff bathroom as a patient bathroom
with antiligature fixtures, a shower, and toilet;
and modified two existing ED exam rooms near
the suite so that they can flex to behavioral patient
treatment spaces.
One of the biggest changes is the creation of a
milieu in the unit. This environment can serve
as a social and treatment space for groups and
patients not requiring seclusion or those waiting
for a bed in the hospital's inpatient unit for
behavioral health patients, says John Keelan,
IKM's principal in charge of the project.
Housed at the back of the suite and in full view
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ECOGNIZING A GROWING need for behavioral healthcare
services, Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, Pa., part of
the Allegheny Health Network (AHN; Pittsburgh), had
established 2,000 square feet within its emergency department
(ED) to help treat the approximately 2,300
behavioral health patients it sees each year in the ED.
The space included three exam rooms and a private
consultation room in the interior of the ED. However,
the existing space wasn't purpose-designed to meet the specific needs of
behavioral health patients, lacking antiligature fixtures, safe building materials,
and adjustable lighting to meet different patients' sensory needs.
Additionally, the layout presented safety and security concerns, making it
possible for staff to get backed into corners, and entry/exit doors that were
susceptible to patient elopement.
" We really wanted to change the whole nature of the space, " says Dr.
Mark Rubino, president and CEO of Forbes Hospital and a physician at
the hospital. Specifically, he notes the facility sought a more calming environment
designed to help de-escalate potential
crises and reduce the use of restraints with behavioral
health patients.
That renovation effort received the Innovation
and Transformation Award in the International
Interior Design Association's (IIDA)
2024 Healthcare Design Awards.
Unable to expand the department, IKM
Architecture (Pittsburgh), the architect and
interior design firm on the project, instead
was tasked with modifying the existing space,
including enclosing the behavioral health unit
with a sally port to reduce the risk of elopement
and minimize the number of staff needed
in the suite.
Balancing patient and staff safety while bringing
the department up to current standards for
MORE ONLINE: For the full article and
additional images of the project, visit
hcdmagazine.com/projects/iida-forbes-hospital.
ABOVE: The nurses'
station in the renovated
behavioral health
suite is enclosed with
frameless, laminated
safety glass with oneinch
gaps between
panels to allow for
clearer communication
and connection between
patients and staff.
BELOW: Ambient sidewall
cove lighting borders
the entire behavioral
health suite and can be
adjusted to mimic the
sun at different times of
the day.
of the nurses' station, the calming setting features
a floor-to-ceiling wallcovering showing a
nature scene inspired by Pennsylvania's natural
surroundings, recessed ceiling lights, and ambient
sidewall cove lighting that can be adjusted
to mimic the sun and sky at different times of
the day. To give behavioral health patients a
sense of control over their environment, the
milieu offers a variety of seating options, including
an alcove with bench seating and three
reclining armchairs.
Keelan says it's " a space that says 'you're going
to be OK' and 'you're going to be taken care
of' in a social environment, under the watchful
eyes of staff, with people who are going through
similar things that you're going through. "
-Robert McCune, senior editor
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
HCDMAGAZINE.COM
MICHAEL LONGO
http://www.hcdmagazine.com/projects/iida-forbes-hospital http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM
Healthcare Design - January/February 2025

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