PHOTO TOUR: UnityPoint Health-Meriter Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Program
Michael R. Conway
Patient rooms along the perimeter of the unit at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Program open to an activity room that invites the child to sit, play, and interact in a positive and friendly environment. Daylighting and playful, safe furniture create an atmosphere of hope and respect.
Michael R. Conway
Each patient room is designed to give patients a choice in seating . To connect with staff, a blackboard is used to communicate who the care team is and what activities the patient might expect.
Michael R. Conway
The waiting room at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Program, designed by BWBR, establishes a tone of optimism through colorful signage and residential-style furnishings that are a departure from the more institutional-style design approaches of the past.
Michael R. Conway
Spacial and social density on the inpatient unit at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Program is managed with an activity space that is open, welcoming, respectful and void of the traffic pinch points that could trigger patients who are acutely sensitive to their personal space.
Michael R. Conway
In the shared activities area at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Programmable light fixtures are tunable to support circadian rhythms by imitating color shifts and intensity of daylight throughout the day.
Michael R. Conway
Colorful lockers and playful furniture during the check-in process are used to begin alleviating anxieties patients may feel during admission for treatment and allow the patient to feel dignified and respected in the process.
Serving 34 counties in southern and central Wisconsin, UnityPoint Health-Meriter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry provides both inpatient and outpatient community-based psychiatric services for children, ages 6-18. The recent multiphase renovation and expansion addresses a long waiting list for treatment and rising demand for services, adding more than 18,500 square feet of space to the existing 20,000-square-foot facility. It also brings color, art, and patient choice together with movement therapy and continuing education in a positive and effective environment for treatment.
Evidence-based and human-centered strategies shape the environment, establishing a sense of dignity in the treatment of mental illness. Details such as daylighting without creating glare; playful yet durable and safe furnishings; and floor patterning that defines zones of personal interactions create an environment where patients feel respected and staff can maintain a safe atmosphere while avoiding measures such as restraints and seclusion. The open environment allows movement while eliminating traffic pinch points that could trigger patients who feel their personal space is encroached.
The expansion serves as a 10-bed children’s unit with common support spaces. The renovation accommodates a 12-bed adolescent unit with another eight beds converted to serve tweens exclusively. A separate day-experience space between the adolescent and child units provides a hub for general day and after-school outpatient programs that serve 30 patients per day.
For more on mental health design trends, check out Healthcare Design’s June/July issue.
Project details:
Facility name: UnityPoint Health-Meriter Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Program
Location: Madison, Wis.
Completion date: Phase 1: October 2019; Phase II: May 2020 (scheduled)
Owner: UnityPoint Health-Meriter
Total building area: 38,600 (18,600 addition; 20,000 renovation)
Total construction cost: $11 million
Cost/sq. ft.: $285
Architecture firm: BWBR
Interior design: BWBR
Construction manager: J.H. Findorff & Sons Inc.
Engineering: Pierce Engineering (Structural), OTIE (Civil), Pearson Engineering (MEP)
Builder: J.H. Findorff & Sons Inc.
