Behavioral Health
Page is a full-service architecture, engineering, and design firm committed to advancing the world through performancebased design. With 1500+ employees and offices in 20 cities, we deliver tailored solutions and research-backed insights that create lasting impact for clients and communities.
Architecture, Engineering, Innovation, Experience— this is Performance by Design.
Visit our website at pagethink.com/behavioral-health
A Passion for Behavioral Health
Creating hopeful places where people heal.
Page’s Behavioral Health design team is dedicated to creating innovative, human-centered spaces that empower providers and support the well-being of patients. With a nationally recognized, award-winning team of more than 60 specialists, we focus on Mental and Behavioral Health projects across the full continuum of care. From large, secure inpatient hospitals to integrated outpatient facilities and stand-alone crisis care clinics, our multidisciplinary team brings deep expertise and a commitment to meaningful impact.
For decades, we’ve collaborated closely with the nation’s leading clinicians and healthcare leaders, not only designing spaces but also actively engaging in research, writing, and speaking to advance the field. We believe architecture plays a vital role in reinforcing dignity, reducing stigma, and fostering healing. Our approach prioritizes thoughtfully integrated security, abundant natural light, biophilic design, and environments that promote recovery, reduce stress, and enhance the well-being of both patients and staff.
Deep Behavioral Health Expertise and Experience: For decades, Page has led the design of a wide range of Behavioral Health facilities, shaping environments that span the entire continuum of care. From crisis response and outpatient support to secure inpatient hospitals, our portfolio includes some of the most advanced facilities in the country. Notable projects include Virginia’s Central State Hospital, Missouri’s Nixon Forensic Center at Fulton State Hospital, Washington, D.C.’s St. Elizabeths Hospital, and the Austin State Hospital, among many others. This experience extends to behavioral health crisis centers, substance use treatment facilities, and community-based outpatient settings. See the full project list in this brochure.
Innovative Trauma-Informed Design: At Page, we’re passionate about pushing the boundaries of behavioral health design to support therapeutic outcomes. Our work on the Nixon Center—recognized as “the most advanced psychiatric hospital in the country”—earned the prestigious Touchstone Gold Award for its integration of behavioral health research and evidence-based design.
We’ve pioneered innovative planning models such as “Program Communities” and paired “snowflake” living units, setting new benchmarks in behavioral health environments. These strategies have been widely praised by hospital leadership and clinicians, reinforcing our commitment to creating spaces that not only meet operational needs but also elevate care, safety, and healing.
Fulton State Hospital Nixon Forensic Center / Fulton, Missouri
Behavioral Health Leadership
Eric Kern, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Principal / Behavioral Health Director ekern@pagethink.com
Hilary Bales, AIA, ACHA, EDAC Principal / Senior Behavioral Health Planner hbales@pagethink.com
Natale Stephens, AIA, EDAC, ACHA, NCARB Principal / Behavioral Health Architect nstephens@pagethink.com
Alison Ledwith, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP Senior Associate / Project Heathcare Planner aledwith@pagethink.com
Visit our website at pagethink.com/behavioral-health
“Today’s best Behavioral Health Hospital provide an outlet for patients and staff to relax. Design responses targeted specifically to Behavioral Health remove environmental clutter and provide natural, homelike and soothing environments that lend themselves to lowered anxiety, and promote peaceful and mental preparation for therapy and recovery.”
Eric Kern, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Behavioral Health Director ekern@pagethink.com
Virginia Department Of General Services New Central State Hospital / Petersburg, Virginia
Virginia Department of General Services
New Central State Hospital / Petersburg, Virginia
Publications, Awards & Speaking Engagements
Our team is highly motivated to collaborate with clients and clinicians and to incorporate the latest behavioral health research into designs. When we do so, we love to share what we’ve developed and learned, and do so through an expanding series of publications, speaking engagements, videos, blogs and awards. The following are just a few recent examples of these by members of the design team.
Select Publications
Social Work Today: Designers share how behavioral health environments are changing amid the pandemic –Eric Kern
Medical Construction & Design Magazine: Learn how design can integrate comfort and safety in Behavioral Healthcare Environments –Eric Kern
Healthcare Design Magazine features the Nixon Forensic Center at Fulton State Hospital for its leading edge design focused on healing, recovery and safety.
Behavioral Healthcare Magazine: “Saint Elizabeths Goes Green” –Eric Kern and Marc Shaw
Select Speaking Engagements
Wellness: How Design Can Reduce Stress & Anxiety. Panel presentation for the American Institute of Architects DC
Long-term Responses to COVID-19 at Area Hospitals: MOSHE
The Architecture of Healing: Panel presentation for The National Building Museum Architecture of an Asylum: Saint Elizabeths 1852-2017, Washington DC
Rebuilding the Asylum: The Ethics of Architecture: Panel presentation for the national conference of the American Psychiatric Association, New York, NY
The New Saint Elizabeths: Architecture for Recovery and Community Presentation for Architecture Exchange East Symposium, Richmond, VA
Empathetic Behavioral Health Design Innovations : Center for Health Design, 2024 Behavioral Health Workshop, Los Angeles, CA
Improving Well-being in the Built Environment: Learning from Fulton State and St Elizabeths Hospitals; 2025 ASHE PDC Summit, Atlanta GA
AIAU An Integrated Approach to Planning the New Austin State Hospital https://aiau.aia.org/course/details/an-integrated-approach-to-planning-the-new-austin-state-hospital
Austin Brain Health Campus / Austin, Texas
Awards
Fulton State Hospital: 2024 AIA National Healthcare Design Award
Fulton State Hospital: 2023 Evidence-Based Design Touchstone Award Gold Category
Austin State Brain Health Campus Plan: 2022 ULI Austin Next Big Idea Award
Austin State Brain Health Campus Plan: 2020 SARA National Design Award in Excellence
Fulton State Hospital: AIA Honor Award, AIA Mid-Missouri
Fulton State Hospital: Honorable Mention, Healthcare Design Showcase, IES Illumination Awards
Saint Elizabeth’s: Award of Merit, Healthcare, Mid-Atlantic Construction Magazine
Saint Elizabeth’s: Craftsmanship Award, Masonry, Washington Building Congress
Central State Hospital: 2023 Design in Mental Health Design Award
Nixon Forensic Center at Fulton State Hospital: 2020 AIA St. Louis Chapter Distingushed Award for Architecture
Nixon Forensic Center at Fulton State Hospital: 2023 The Center for Healthcare Design Evidence-Based Design Touchstone Award
Nixon Forensic Center at Fulton State Hospital: 2020 Technology Award ASHRAE St. Louis
Behavioral Health
Our team has deep expertise across a wide range of care settings and recognizes the critical role a therapeutic environment plays in an individual’s treatment and overall well-being. By integrating a nuanced understanding of Behavioral and Mental Health care delivery with the latest research and advancements in diagnostic and treatment technology, we collaborate closely with clients to create innovative, tailored design solutions that align with the specific needs of the populations they serve.
50%
Half of all mental-health disorders first show up before the person turns 14
Three-quarters of mental-health disorders begin before 24. But less than 20% receive treatment 1:20
“Behavioral Health holds a special place in my heart. Not only do I myself fall into the 1 in 5 diagnosed with a mental health disorder, but I am a mother, a wife, a family member and an advocate for others affected. I believe strongly that the design of our buildings can both positively and sometimes negatively affect our healing journey and those afflicted with behavioral health issues are extremely sensitive to their environments. I consider it an honor and a privilege to create healing and therapeutic buildings to positively impact people’s lives.”
Hilary Bales, AIA, ACHA, EDAC Principal / Senior Behavioral Health Planner
Our interdisciplinary teams bring together nurses, clinical experts, PhDs, administrators, and guest advocates— ensuring a holistic approach that balances client needs, community impact, and the evolving landscape of healthcare economics and technology. We build our teams with intention, aligning specialized expertise with each project’s unique challenges. By integrating traditional healthcare knowledge with insights from non-clinical specialists, we deliver solutions that go beyond convention. Our Behavioral and Mental Health expertise is strengthened by our work in data centers, mission-critical facilities, research labs, workplace environments, hospitality, housing, and academic spaces—bringing fresh perspectives that drive innovation in care environments.
One in 20 Americans live with a serious mental illness
One in five adults has experienced a mental-health issue 20%
History of Page Behavioral Health Design
The Page Behavioral Health team has been on the forefront of modern innovative behavioral health facility design for over 30 years. Priding ourselves in working collaboratively with hospital leadership on therapy-supportive solutions, new inpatient facilities were designed in the 1990s at RICA Baltimore and Sheppard Pratt that stressed safety, active daytime amenities, and multiple courtyards.
Following the success of these projects, in 2001 the team was awarded what was to become a paradigm-shifting new 294-bed inpatient behavioral health hospital in Washington DC, Saint Elizabeths Hospital. Working closely with hospital leadership, clinical staff and leading behavioral health operations consultant Dr. Joel Dvoskin, the design featured a customized living unit layout with subdivided and splayed bedroom wings which allowed for maximum observation, minimal travel distances, and single patient bedrooms. The overall facility layout was designed as two joined hospitals with separate Living and Treatment Mall wings for the hospital’s forensic/high security and civil/medium security patients. In addition, the hospital was designed as a largely single-story complex, minimizing risk in vertical transportation for patients and services, and featured multiple options in exterior patient courtyards. Saint Elizabeths Hospital won multiple awards and was heralded as an example of a new generation of research-based layouts for recovery-based facilities. The hospital was toured extensively by multiple jurisdictions interested in learning and designing similar facilities.
After Saint Elizabeths, the team began work with Missouri’s Fulton State Hospital on the design of a new 300-bed facility. Expanding on innovations at Saint Elizabeths, the new design featured enhanced paired living units which provided an offstage corridor for services and rapid unit staff backup. In addition, working closely with the hospital’s medical director and leadership, the design was adapted to emulate the division of Fulton’s current treatment into four unique therapy programs. The building’s layout was subdivided into quadrants, each featuring a new innovative therapy space type for state mental health facilities called the Program Community. The Program Community addition has since been emulated in later hospitals, as has been the paired-unit configuration, and the Fulton State Hospital (subsequently named the Nixon Forensic Center) has proceeded to win multiple national design awards for its unique therapy-supportive design features, including 2023’s evidence-based-design Touchstone Award and the 2024 National AIA Healthcare Design Award.
Design innovations and lessons from St. Elizabeths and Fulton progressed further in the design of Virginia’s 248-bed Central State Hospital starting in 2019. The unique paired living unit design was additionally advanced adding “fingerseparation” and skylights for enhanced central dayroom natural light. A fifth Program Community was included based on leadership’s vision of utilizing these for customized therapy by diagnosis, and their layouts were customized to recognize the needs of each. Biophilic graphics and materials were further developed, as were courtyard types and amenities, and additional research-based features were added to the design, including circadian lighting and high-performance modelinformed approaches to acoustics, glare, and daylighting.
Upon completion of the design and given these additional features, it was nominated for the Project Of The Year, New Build as one of two Top Healthcare Facilities worldwide at 2024’s Design in Mental Health Conference in the UK. Additionally, this project is expected to be ranked as the most advanced state inpatient psychiatric facility in the country.
As these large projects were providing innovative new solutions for inpatient behavioral health facilities, throughout the 2000s and 2010s Page simultaneously provided design leadership for a number of other facility types across the continuum of care, including Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinics, Emergency Rooms and Emergency Care Units, and Pediatric and Adolescent Treatment facilities. Examples of these include the SFHS Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital Eating Disorders, VA Austin Outpatient Clinic, Desmond Doss Health Clinic at Schofield Barracks, Healthcare for the Homeless, Oceans Healthcare, Harris Center for Mental Health, Department of Veterans Affairs Austin Outpatient Clinic, and may others.
Page’s focus on providing the most advanced new behavioral health designs has continued and flourished in the 2020s, creating additional state-of-the-art facilities with Austin State Hospital, Starcare Hope Center and Hospital, Panhandle State Hospital, Larimer County Behavioral Health Facility, Intermountain, and North Texas State Hospital. In addition, programming and feasibility studies for 300-bed hospitals including Georgia and Connecticut have been completed, as well as studies for Mercy Hospital and DMH / UH in Kansas City, Missouri.
Virginia Department Of General Services
New Central State Hospital / Petersburg, Virginia
Panhandle State Hospital / Amarillo, Texas
StarCare Specialty Health System
Sunrise Canyon Psychiatric Hospital / Lubbock, Texas
Fulton State Hospital, Nixon Forensic Center at Fulton State Hospital / Fulton, Missouri
Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, Miller Family Campus / Salt Lake City, Utah
Austin State Hospital / Austin, Texas
Whiting Forensic Hospital Relocation Study / Middletown, Connecticut
North Texas State Hospital / Wichita Falls, Texas
Larimer County Behavioral Health Facility / Fort Collins, Missouri
Evidence Based Design Process
At Page, research and thought leadership are fundamental to how we design recovery-focused Mental Health environments. Our team follows a rigorous process to ensure the latest research is reviewed and integrated into each project, working closely with clients to align evidence-based insights with their mission, vision, and guiding principles. By leveraging both established literature and in-house empirical research, we create environments that are not only functional but also transformative.
Leading this effort is Healthcare Research Director Laurie Waggener, who spearheads pre- and post-occupancy Behavioral Health data collection, reinforcing our commitment to outcome-driven design. A testament to this approach, the Nixon Forensic Center was recently honored with the Touchstone Gold Award from The Center for Health Design. Recognized for its exemplary use of an evidence-based design (EBD) process, Nixon has been hailed as “the most advanced psychiatric hospital in the country,” setting a new standard for Mental Health care environments.
Laurie Waggener rrt, iida, edac Director, Research for Healthcare
lwaggener@pagethink.com
Austin Brain Health Campus / Austin, Texas
Nixon Forensic Center at Fulton State Hospital
Page’s post-occupancy review process measures quantifiable benefits to patients and staff in multiple ways, such as physical differences like acoustics, natural light, and safety. In addition, we gather empirically reported results from hospital leadership. The following is a list of some of the outcomes that have been described to us by hospital leadership one year (or more) after occupancy of the new facilities:
§ Increased staff morale
§ Reduced incidences of aggressive behavior
§ Decreased use of seclusion and restraint
§ Increased levels of resident activity
§ Expanded traditional treatment programs
§ Added evening, night and weekend programs
§ Improved operational flexibility
§ Expanded social and educational opportunities
§ Increased positive staff / resident interaction
§ Raised community involvement and interaction
A Passion for Behavioral Health
Creating hopeful places where people heal.
We have a singular goal for every project. Create a place where every patient walks in the door and says, “I think I can get better here.”
Behavioral health facility design is shaped by two essential priorities: (1) creating an operationally efficient, therapeutic environment and (2) ensuring the safety and well-being of both patients and staff.
Modern healthcare facilities function as complex, interdependent systems—much like the human body or nature itself. Our approach views each element as part of a greater whole, ensuring seamless integration that enhances performance, supports organizational goals, reduces energy consumption, and delivers lasting value for our clients.
Evidence-based design plays a critical role in improving behavioral health outcomes, fostering recovery, and enhancing staff and patient experiences. Key design strategies include maximizing daylight, integrating courtyards, circadian lighting, thermal and acoustic comfort, biophilic elements, and multi-sensory, restorative spaces. Thoughtfully planned layouts, open nursing stations, ligature-resistant materials, and amenities that support decompression, movement, and nutrition all contribute to environments that promote healing and stability.
“Follow-up studies show the redesigning behavioral health facilities in more therapeutic way decreases lengths of stay and reduces aggression and injuries. Design has everything to do with lowering these numbers and increasing safety. It’s well worth investment.”
- Dr. Brandi Justice, Psy.D., CEO /
Director of Central State Hospital
Virginia Department of General Services New Central State Hospital / Petersburg, Virginia
Virginia Department of General Services New Central State Hospital / Petersburg, Virginia
Saint Elizabeth’s New Hospital / Washington, DC
Designing Trauma-Informed Spaces
RESIST RE-TRAUMATIZATION
CONNECTION
Plan for varying levels of social density. Give individuals the choice to engage or disengage. Respect boundaries.
SAFETY
Protect individuals and staff. Provide visible security, and well-lit public and exterior spaces.
EQUITY & INCLUSION
Being aware of how an individual’s culture affects how they perceive trauma, safety, and privacy. Provide adequate and equal access for those with physical or developmental disabilities.
The first priority is to create supportive environments that resist re-traumatization. People experiencing trauma can be hyper aware and/or hyper sensitive to their surroundings.
WHOLISTIC
Consider the whole health of individuals. Provide a welcoming environment with access and views to nature.
TRUST
Involve end users in the decision-making process. Consistent, open, respectful and compassionate communication. Prioritize privacy and confidentiality.
CHOICE
Empower individuals to make their own choices & have as much control of their environment as is safely possible.
RESILIENCE & RECOVERY
A trauma-informed approach recognizes that understanding an individual’s life experiences is essential to delivering effective care. By integrating this perspective into design, we can enhance engagement, improve treatment adherence, support better health outcomes, and foster staff well-being.
Guiding Principles in Practice
Key principles are emerging that shape the foundation of trauma-informed design, including safety, trust, transparency, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and sensitivity to cultural, historical, and gender considerations. At Page, we are refining best practices based on research and real-world project experience, ensuring that every space we create supports healing and resilience. Each principle is translated into tangible design strategies aimed at fostering environments where individuals feel secure, valued, and empowered. These principles are outlined in the accompanying graphic.
Case Study
Fulton State Hospital Nixon Forensic Center
Fulton, Missouri
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Size
459,900 Square Feet
300 Beds (Forensic and Civil)
Services Provided
Architecture / Engineering / Interior Design / Planning / Consulting / Commissioning / Programming / Sustainability
Fulton State Hospital is the oldest mental health facility west of the Mississippi River. To build on their legacy, improve quality of care, and meet today’s safety standards, the Hospital engaged Page to transform their campus through a multi-phased design of a 300-bed, 450,000-squarefoot facility.
The new Nixon Center is a modern forensic mental hospital that not only provides expanded treatment opportunities, but is significantly safer for patients and staff, promotes wellness and healing, and is conducive to modern treatment. How did the team resolve contradictory goals of creating a therapeutic, recovery-based environment while providing effective security for all? We reinvented the standard floor plan for psychiatric hospitals.
Page worked with hospital clinicians to develop a new patient treatment space for daytime actives. Dubbed the “Program Communities,” this collection of commons and counseling rooms serves as a middle-ground option between the 25-patient Living Units and the 100+ patient Treatment Mall. This “three-tier” organization of psychiatric patient space is the first of its type constructed in the world and is becoming a trend in behavioral health hospital design.
Spaces are also positioned for passive observation by providing clear sight lines through patient areas and to critical doors, allowing for monitoring of historically problematic areas such as dining rooms and toilet room doors. Living units are located back-to-back adding efficiency to hospital operations while providing a second means for staff security to travel quickly to each unit and extensive natural daylight, access and views to outdoor spaces and nature, innovative materials, and biophilic principles are featured, improving the quality of users’ lives and promoting seamless integration between safety and effective therapy.
The facility features bright windows, a welcoming “front porch” for social events and a central lawn providing a park-like atmosphere with walking paths for the surrounding community to enjoy.
§ 2024 National AIA Healthcare Award
§ 2023 Touchstone Gold Award
§ Collaboration with WSP
§ AIA Mid-Missouri, Honor Award
§ Healthcare Design 2020 Showcase Award, Honorable Mention
§ 12 distinct living areas / 4 unique program communities
§ 3 levels of activity and security according to patient needs
§ Communities share the Hope Center – a town square-like mall
Case Study
Virginia Department of General Services
New Central State Hospital
Petersburg, Virginia
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Size
471,000 Square Feet
252 Beds (Forensic and Civil)
Services Provided Architecture / Interior Design / Planning / Programming
The Commonwealth of Virginia is committed to providing safe, effective, efficient, economically responsible, high quality behavioral healthcare for its citizens. Because its existing facilities at Central State Hospital are dated, spread across multiple buildings, and do not support recovery-based treatment, the Commonwealth determined that a new hospital was required.
Encompassing 471,000 Gross Square Feet, the new facility will provide a total of 252 in-patient beds, including 111 maximum security and 141 civil beds. The project includes patient treatment/ program areas, a pharmacy, clinic, and administrative and support services space. The new facility will have delineated treatment areas for maximum security and civil patients, as well as secure enclosed courtyards for outdoor recreation of those committed for care. The design makes special provisions for virus spread mitigation and will anticipate the future construction of a future 48-bed addition, to total 300 beds. The facility features bright windows, a welcoming “front porch” for social events and a central lawn providing a park-like atmosphere with walking paths for the surrounding community to enjoy.
Central State Hospital is being recognized as one of the most advanced state behavioral health hospital designs in the country. Its innovative design offers secure, separate treatment spaces for two distinct populations while providing a variety of treatment options and exterior access, all supported by shared infrastructure and services.
Building on research and evidence-based design techniques, as seen in recent projects like Fulton and Saint Elizabeths, the design of Central State Hospital has been further enhanced to incorporate more unique features and a thorough implementation of best practices in behavioral health. The hospital’s design advances the paired living unit concept introduced at Fulton, adding features such as “finger-separation” glazing and central skylights to improve natural light in the central dayroom. In response to the success of the Program Community concept at Fulton, a fifth Program Community was incorporated based on leadership’s vision of customizing therapy by diagnosis. Each community’s layout was tailored to address the specific treatment needs of its population.
The hospital also places a strong emphasis on biophilic design, with enhanced interior spaces and exterior architectural features incorporating nature-inspired materials and graphics. Courtyards and amenities were carefully planned, while additional research-based design features such as circadian lighting, sensory spaces, fitness areas, and advanced acoustics, glare control, and daylighting strategies were integrated to support overall patient wellness. Currently under construction, Central State Hospital is poised to set a new standard for behavioral health facilities upon its grand opening in early 2027.
Nominated for Project of the Year at the UK’s 2023 Design in Mental Health Conference
Case Study
Austin State Hospital Brain Health Campus Plan and Replacement Hospital Austin,
Texas
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Size
380,000 Square Feet
240 inpatient Beds
Services Provided
Campus Planning / Site Analysis / Interior Design / Planning / Programming / Architecture / Graphics & Signage / Fire Protection / Project Management / Construction Administration / Commissioning
In 2018 Page and the State of Texas embarked on a unique opportunity to create a model environment for the continuum of brain health care in Central Texas with the implementation of the Austin State Hospital (ASH) Brain Health Campus Plan and Hospital Replacement. The campus plan outlines a strategy for replacing current hospital functions and to provide a long-term vision for the build-out of the campus to create the continuum of care necessary for the future of brain health in Austin and surrounding served communities. The guiding principles developed in partnership with Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School include providing safe, therapeutic, welcoming and normative environments for people receiving care, as well as a safe and engaging environment for staff that contributes to reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and allows people to receive treatment with dignity.
The 95-acre campus is situated within the center of Austin, with vibrant residential neighborhoods, mixed-use development, and busy streets on all sides. The ASH Brain Health Campus plan illustrates a series of integrated solutions which include creating a sense of connection with community, incentives for strategic partnerships, and enabling a full continuum of care. Built-in flexibility is utilized to accommodate a vast array of community partners to enhance and enrich the overall campus.
The Austin State Hospital is a 374,000 SF replacement inpatient psychiatric hospital with 240 adult beds, opened in 2024. The new hospital consolidates services into one key building to improve operational efficiency and form a more public and dignified presence of the hospital in the urban neighborhood. The design team implemented a rigorous, research-driven design process in collaboration with stakeholders to define the project’s driving values and then conveyed those values through architecture – ultimately designing a facility as a tool that supports therapy, recovery, stress reduction, and wellness. Multiple research methodologies were utilized, including literature review, stakeholder interviews, mockups, prototyping and planned post-occupancy evaluation.
The Austin State Hospital has received several local and national design and planning awards. This project exemplifies many evidence-based design features that enhance outcomes, promote recovery, and increase staff and patient satisfaction. These include daylight, access to courtyards, thermal and acoustic comfort, biophilic design, multi-sensory and restorative spaces, safe easily observed layouts, open nursing stations, safe ligature-resistant materials and products and amenities promoting decompression, exercise and nutrition.
Larimer County Behavioral Health Facility
Fort Collins, Colorado
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Size
58,600 Square Feet
56 Acute Beds
Services Provided
Architecture / Interior Design / Planning / Programming
Page began the Campus Master Plan in 1980 to offer a comprehensive range of Larimer County Behavioral Health Facility is a collaboration between Larimer County, the City of Fort Collins Colorado, UC Health and SummitStone Partners in an effort to change the paradigm of behavioral health within their community. The County began with a community assessment, with input from their partners and the Larimer County Criminal Justice Services to redesign the way individuals with mental and behavioral health needs seek treatment. Page was hired to complete a high level master plan, detailed programming and design for the new facility.
The new LCBH facility will be located on 30+ acres of open space, allowing for inspiring yet comforting views of the Front Range and will enable campus growth for additional treatment, supportive housing and community functions. It will serve the immediate need for substance abuse withdrawal services, crisis care and short term residential beds within the new 56,000 sf facility. Patients seeking care will be brought directly to the new center by walk-in, law enforcement or first responders through newly redesigned decision tree protocol. All patients will visit the behavioral health triage hub, where they will undergo an extensive medical and behavioral health assessment to determine the right level of care and setting for that individual. Once the assessment has been completed, patients will have access to a Care Coordination team to assist with community placement, the new 16 bed Social Detox, Medical Detox, Crisis Stabilization or short-term Intensive Residential units or the 23-hour Observation area. The new facility will also house a retail pharmacy, lab and administration to provide coordinated patientcentric care.
The design of the new building embraces the natural surroundings, with a direct view to a large outdoor area and Horsetooth Reservoir. Warm, rich materials create a soothing and therapeutic environment both inside and out. Ample indoor and outdoor activity and treatment spaces for games, art, yoga, gardening and fitness are located throughout and are flooded with natural light. The new facility will truly be a place of wellness and healing for the Larimer County community.
StarCare Behavioral Health Hospital and Diversion Center
Lubbock, Texas
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Size
80,860 Square Feet
75 Beds
Services Provided
Architecture / Master Planning / Interior Design / Programming / Behavioral Health Planning
StarCare Specialty Health System (StarCare) is committed to provide access to the best behavioral health services to the community. It is also the State designated Local Authority for mental health, intellectual disabilities and substance use disorders.
StarCare Sunrise Canyon’s existing behavioral health facilities limit their ability to deliver patient and family care consistent with their long-term vision. Standards and modalities of care, patient demographics, demand for services continue to evolve.
This Design Development Submission is provided to document the Program Verification and design development efforts for a new 60-bed Hospital facility with a connected Crisis Center (Hope Center).
This new inpatient Hospital will serve to provide therapeutic spaces, increase the number of patients served, provide an intensive treatment sub-unit, and provide staff with adequate space to better deliver their high quality of care. This facility responds to StarCare’s desire to provide high quality, flexible, efficient, and effective behavioral healthcare, that responds to current needs and plans for future environment for behavioral health services.
The HOPE Center for Health and Wellbeing will be a Diversion Center Model pf Care to help people experiencing mental health distress avoid emergency rooms, jails, and inpatient hospitals when clinically appropriate, using crisis evaluation services, 23-hour extended observation, and community partner resources.
The Diversion Center (“Hope Center”) is a joint project bu the West Texas Health Partnership, an organization that is comprised of government, healthcare, and higher education entities. This group will be engaged in all phases of this project. Initial programming and cost analysis indicated that the current budget might support approximately 10,000-gross square feet for this portion of the building.
The Diversion Center was envisioned as a beacon of hope, and is strategically located on the northwest side of the hospital building as a focal point for the campus, ensuring its viability from Aspen Avenue. Over the course of the schematic design meetings with users, multiple design massing concepts and floor plan layouts for this building were reviewed and refined.
Partner Architect-of-Record: Parkhill
North Texas State Hospital
Wichita Falls, Texas
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Size
411,505 Square Feet
225 Beds
Services Provided
Panhandle State Hospital Amarillo, Texas
Project Size
163,425 Square Feet
75 Beds
Architecture / Programming / Campus Planning / Project Management / Construction Administration / Sustainability
Following the successful completion of the 240-bed HHSC Austin State Hospital, HHSC engaged Page to design two more significant state Behavioral Health Hospitals, the 225-bed North Texas State Hospital in Wichita Falls, TX and the 75-bed Panhandle State Hospital in Amarillo, TX. The new facilities will provide high quality, efficient, and patientcentered care in a safe environment that protects patients and employees, supports disease management models, and allows flexibility in space utilization and life-cycle sustainability.
Following a challenging mandate to complete the design and construction of both projects on a tight schedule while further advancing HHSC’s statewide design standards for behavioral health, multiple Page office locations collaborated to further enhance the planning and design of Austin State Hospital in two new state-of-the art Brain Health Facilities. Working closely with Construction Managers, our team strategically expedited design schedules to enable earlier construction starts through careful planning and multiple bid packages. The North Texas State Hospital project was able to move from Programming to groundbreaking in only 8 months, with construction starting in August 2024. Panhandle State Hospital similarly worked with the CM to develop early demo and site packages to expedite the schedule. During Programming and Concept Design, the teams worked closely with the state client and hospital staff to identify and finalize timely decision making, allowing an expedited Design Development Submission and the production of Early Site & Utility Bid Packages. To further expedite the construction schedule, our NTSH team produced a second early bid package for procurement of Foundations and Building Structure. With a design team well-versed in the complex programming and planning of inpatient Behavioral Health hospitals, a focus on strong relationships between stakeholders, and a committed review schedule on the client side, it can be possible to advance into construction faster than a typical project of this nature.
Panhandle State Hospital features 75 inpatient bedrooms, a large “downtown” treatment mall space, multiple patient courtyards, admissions, a health clinic, administration space, pharmacy, a staff training suite, food service kitchen, and a materials management warehouse. The North Texas State Hospital includes 25 Maximum Security Beds, 150 forensic beds, 25 adolescent beds, and 25 civil beds. In both facilities, treatment diversity will be provided in a centralized “Downtown” treatment zone to be shared hospital wide. The Downtown zones offer spaces such as a theater, gymnasium, cafe, bank, salon, chapel, and greenhouse to supplement the on-unit “neighborhoods” that are associated with each of the inpatient units. Page’s services on these projects also includes furniture, furnishings and equipment (FFE).
North Texas State Hospital / Wichita Falls, Texas
Panhandle State Hospital / Amarillo, Texas
Saint Elizabeths New Hospital
Washington DC
Following its completion in 2013, St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington DC was heralded as a new standard in the design of trauma-informed, recovery-based secure state facilities. The hospital was designed as two joined, but separate hospitals, including a side for civil patients and a separate, higher security side for forensic patients. Both sides include a complete, independent treatment mall, highly observable living units, and a variety of outdoor activity spaces. Among several unique evidence-based-design features, the hospital includes custom-designed splayed, easily observable 8/9 bedroom wings, patient courtyard opportunities at multiple scales (from unit-level to a large facility-wide recreation park), ample community engagement spaces such as an auditorium and museum, and significant support functions including administration, training, medical clinic, food services, materials management, and more. The facility’s innovative design has served as a model for multiple state hospitals constructed thereafter in the 2010’s and 2020’s.
Additional Behavioral Health Projects
Saint Francis Health System Laureate Psychiatric Hospital and Eating Disorder Clinic / Tulsa, Oklahoma
39,500 SF / Outpatient Clinic
Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Emergency and Intensive Care Expansion / Albany, Georgia
150,000 SF / Behavioral Health Observation Unit
Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, Miller Family Campus / Salt Lake City, Utah
483,243 SF / Inpatient/Outpatient
Austin ISD New Rosedale School - Children’s Comprehensive Care Clinic / Austin, Texas
17,178 SF / Special Needs Outpatient Clinic
Texas Children’s Hospital Austin Specialty Care Clinic / Austin, Texas
26000 SF / Specialty Care Clinic
The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD / Houston, Texas
214,000 SF / Outpatient Clinic
Behavioral Health Programming and Feasibility Studies
In addition to offering complete design services from Visioning through Construction, Page’s Behavioral Health team frequently supports clients with early Pre-Design studies. These studies help establish Programs, and provide Option Analyses, and Project Budgets for potential new projects. The scope of these studies can vary, ranging from fully developed Project Programs with Concept Design Options, to analyses of multiple sites and test fits, to more concise high-level studies exploring possible outcomes. These pages showcase images of several Programming and Concept Design Test Fitting projects that Page has recently completed for Connecticut DAS, the Department of Mental Health/University Health in Kansas City, Missouri, Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, among others.
PROJECT 1
Whiting Forensic Hospital Relocation Study
PROJECT 2
Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities New Behavioral Health Hospital Feasibility Study
STUDY 1
STUDY 2
PROJECT 3
Kansas City Feasibility Study for a New Department AOR Partner: BNIM
PROJECT 4
Mercy Hospital South Replacement
Behavioral Health Facility Programming & Concept Design
Additional Behavioral Health Experience
Adora Health Care Dallas, Texas
Austin State Brain Health Hospital Austin, Texas
Baylor Medical Psychology Center Plano, Texas
Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas
Broward Health System Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Chickasaw Nation Medical Center Ada, Oklahoma
Children’s Medical Center Legacy Plano, Texas
Children’s Health Dallas, Texas
Comanche County Memorial Hospital Lawton, Oklahoma
Dallas Medical Center Dallas, Texas
Department of Veteran Affairs Nationwide
Devereaux Neurobehavioral Institute Jacksonville, Texas
Freedom Healthcare Behavioral Hospital Topeka, Kansas
Fulton County Adamsville Regional Health Center Atlanta, Georgia
Good Neighbor Healthcare Center Houston, Texas
Hackensack Meridian Health Ocean Medical Center Brick, New Jersey
Hamad Medical Corporation Doha, Qatar
Harris Center for Mental Health Houston, Texas
Healthcare for the Homeless Houston, Texas
HHSC North Texas State Hospital Wichita Falls, Texas
HHSC Panhandle State Hospital Amarillo Texas
Kansas City Mental Health Hospital Kansas City, Missouri
KC University Health Kansas
Kennedy Krieger Institute Weinberg Center for Developmental Disabilities Baltimore, Maryland
Kline Research Institute Expansion and Renovation New York
Kindred Hospital Amarillo, Texas
Knapp Medical Center Weslaco, Texas
Larimer County Behavioral Health Fort Collins, Colorado
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Omaha, Nebraska
Mercy Hospital South New Behavioral Health Facility St. Louis, Missouri
Missouri Department of Mental Health Nixon Forensic Center Missouri, Kansas
Oceans Healthcare Texas and Louisiana
Rosedale School Austin, Texas
Regional Institute for Children & Adolescents (RCA) School Rockville, Maryland
Saint Francis Health System Laureate Psychiatric Hospital Tulsa, Oklahoma
Sonoma County Behavioral Health Santa Rosa, California
Sheppard Pratt Hospital Jefferson, Maryland
Stanley Regional Medical Center Albemarle, North Carolina
Texas Children’s Austin, Texas
Texas Health and Human Services Austin, Texas
Texas Children’s Hospital Autism Center Renovation Houston, Texas
Timberlawn Psychiatric Hospital Dallas, Texas
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (Anschutz Tower 3) Colorado
UHS Cypress Creek Houston, Texas
United States Army Nationwide
University of New Mexico Health Sandoval
Regional Medical Center Rio Rancho, New Mexico
US Army Corps of Engineers Behavioral Health Clinic and Substance Abuse Disorder Clinic
University of Texas Dell Medical School Austin, Texas
University of Texas at Dallas Brain Performance Institute Dallas, Texas
Village Health Partners Plano, Texas
West Central Georgia Regional Hospital Georgia
Whiting Forensic Hospital Middletown, Connecticut
Wilshire Senior Living Los Angeles, California
About Page
Firm Overview
Page is one of the nation’s top-ranked integrated design firms, with 1,400+ people in 20 offices across the U.S. and in Mexico. We are known for well researched, program driven solutions. Clients tell us we excel at complex projects and exceptional design. Some of the key characteristics that distinguish Page from other design firms are:
Expertise That Transcends Markets
With ten strategically selected market specialties, Page offers a depth and breadth of expertise that few firms can match. Each of our sector teams operates at a high level, delivering impactful projects across the U.S. and internationally.
What sets us apart is the ability to integrate expertise across multiple disciplines, creating smarter, more holistic design solutions. Academic medical centers benefit from a single firm that understands their clinical, research, academic, workplace, and housing needs. Healthcare projects gain from designers with deep hospitality experience, enhancing patient and visitor experiences. Senior Living communities thrive under the combined expertise of our Housing and Healthcare teams.
This cross-disciplinary approach is the Page advantage—one of the many reasons we continue to earn the trust of repeat clients.
Related Specialties
Children’s Behavioral Health / Veterans / Crisis Center / Healthcare / Lab Planning / Academic Civic / Federal Healthcare / Academic Medical Centers / Specialty Care / Workplace / Corporate
Whiting Forensic Hospital Relocation Study / Middletown, Connecticut
Fulton State Hospital Nixon Forensic Center / Fulton, Missouri
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