Healthcare Design — Behavioral
About CMTA
CMTA was founded in 1968 and is recognized as a national leader in high performance, sustainable design within the engineering industry. Our firm has leveraged our expertise in high performance, energy-efficient design into a nationwide practice that includes consulting engineering, performance contracting and zero energy design, technology solutions, and commissioning services.
We pride ourself on our data-driven, performance-based design process. Performance-based design uses benchmarking of our projects’ real-world energy usage as a challenge to our engineers to continuously improve energy performance. CMTA’s first signature performance-based design project was Richardsville Elementary School, the nation’s first operational Zero Energy school. Since then, our Zero Energy projects have led our firm into the national spotlight.
Because we walk the talk, we are true partners vested in sharing our knowledge with our clients. Our corporate headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and our Lexington, Kentucky offices are both zero energy buildings with perfect ENERGY STAR scores. And our CMTA Energy Solutions corporate office in Louisville is the first in the U.S. to operate as Zero Energy and achieve WELL Gold certification. CMTA strives to create strong relationships with building owners and managers while also focusing on the health and comfort of the people who live, work, and play in spaces we design.
National Leader in Energy Efficient Design
National Behavioral Health Design
CMTA’s experience with design for behavioral health environments allows us to understand that patient/staff comfort and safety is paramount. By integrating cutting-edge design with patient-centered considerations, engineering can play a vital role in creating therapeutic environments that support mental health treatment and recovery while ensuring safety and functionality.
Incorporating engineering expertise into mental health facility design can significantly enhance patient care and treatment outcomes. For instance, acoustic engineering can be utilized to control noise levels, providing a serene and calming atmosphere crucial for patient well-being. Moreover, natural light optimization through strategic window placement and sunlight exposure can enhance mood and regulate circadian rhythms, contributing to improved mental health. HVAC systems can be designed to maintain comfortable temperatures and air quality, reducing stressors related to physical discomfort. Additionally, advanced security systems and layouts that minimize potential hazards increase patient safety and privacy, crucial components in mental health care settings.
Our national experience means that we are well-versed in working through unique regulatory issues in the early phases of design to ensure project success for these facility types.
Engineering Innovation
– Designed the first pre-fab BH toilet and shower module
– Assisted manufacturers with the development of ligature-resistant lavatory fixtures
– Developed a standard for safely implementing pre-action fire suppression in patient units
– Created technology design standards for national behavioral health providers
– Worked with manufacturers with product innovation to incorporate ligatureresistant bezels and update reader backlights from red to white to reduce potential stressors related to color
Occupant Health + Wellness
CMTA’s buildings are moving beyond energy efficiency and sustainability to lead the industry’s focus on improving occupant health. Our team has a vast understanding of the building performance metrics and design strategies that improve the built environment for occupant comfort and wellness. This knowledge allows us to be successful in incorporating strategies that improve the health and wellbeing of the occupant while still maintaining budget and energy efficiency goals.
Our continuous drive for improvement fuels our research into Indoor air quality, lighting, and comfort as markers for occupant wellness. This allows us to incorporate proven strategies into every project we complete. We focus on delivering the best value for the building owner and the occupants,
which goes beyond costs, and improves human health while maintaining budget and energy-efficiency goals.
Patient and Staff Experience
We want patients to feel as if at home — lighting is a large part of creating this inviting atmosphere. By using the latest technology and cost effective strategies, we aim to create a more comfortable, less-institutional feel, while still being functional.
In addition to providing natural daylight, circadian lighting strategies are utilized to help support the sleep health of both patients and staff. This is accomplished by providing high-energy melanopic lighting during the day, and warmer, more soothing lighting after hours.
We spend about 85% of our lives in buildings, and it is essential that architects and engineers understand how the built environment affects the health and wellness of its occupants.
Brockton Behavioral Health
Boston Medical Center | Brockton, Massachusetts
Boston Medical Center (BMC) is leading the way to more energy efficient healthcare facilities. Building upon successes with renewable energy systems on their main campus in Boston’s South End, BMC began construction on a new behavioral healthcare facility on their satellite campus in Brockton, Massachusetts.
This innovative heating and cooling design includes 88-500’ deep geothermal wells to serve the heat pump system for this 82 bed in-patient treatment center. Keeping renovation and operating costs on budget were paramount. It was the opinion of the stakeholders that net zero design would cost more and be more disruptive to the community during construction. However, it was illustrated that geothermal wells would decrease energy costs and have a greater ROI than traditional heating and cooling systems, all while creating a healthy building for staff and patients.
Ensuring patient comfort and providing the optimal setting for recovery were the primary drivers for this project. However, the former nursing home was constructed in the 1970s with very inefficient masonry envelope systems. Replacing these elements with high performance enclosure details, to minimize heat transfer was essential.
Project
at a Glance
Completed: 2022
Size: 70,000 SF; 82 beds
Construction Cost: $40M
Project Type: New Construction
Zero Energy / Carbon Neutral Targeted
William K. Schubert Mental Health Center
Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center | Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati Children’s selected CMTA as the engineer of record for a new five-story facility that replaces the current inpatient building on the College Hill campus. Encompassing 160,000 square feet, the state-of-the-art facility is 68% larger than the current one.
The new building includes private rooms for all inpatients – this enables families to spend more time on the units and even stay overnight with their child. In addition, there are dedicated spaces for group therapy,
speech therapy, occupational therapy, and recreational therapy. The facility also hosts expanded services for patients with neuro-developmental disorders.
Project at a Glance
Completion: 2023
Size: 160,000 SF; 96 Beds
Construction Cost: $102M
Project Type: New Construction, Design-Build
Acadia Healthcare
Nationwide
CMTA has provided MEP engineering, technology design and commissioning services for nearly 150 behavioral health facility projects for Acadia Healthcare. Ranging from new, ground-up facilities to space conversions, the designs incorporate elements for enhanced patient safety and outcomes as well as energy efficient measures.
Acadia - ECU Health JV, New Behavioral Health Hospital, Greenville, North Carolina
100,000 SF, 144-bed behavioral health hospital includes geothermal.
Behavioral Health Hospital Conversion, Madison, Wisconsin
83,400 SF Renovation/Addition adaptive reuse project, includes geothermal HVAC system.
Cedar Crest Addition/Renovation, Belton, Texas
Various renovations and new construction of $60M behavioral hospital on an existing campus. Included geothermal.
Acadia-Geisinger JV New Behavioral Health Hospital, Danville Pennsylvania New, 96-bed behavioral health hospital, which serves as a teaching hospital training students and residents from Geisinger’s College of Health Sciences. Included geothermal.
Acadia Southcoast New Behavioral Health Hospital, Dartmouth, Massachusetts New, 80,000 SF hospital with in and outpatient space for geriatric, adult, adolescent, and pediatric patients as well as a specialized dual diagnosis program focused on treating behavioral diagnosis in combination with substance abuse issues. A 48-bed addition subsequently followed as the need for additional space arose.
Laurel Ridge Treatment Center
Universal Health Services | San Antonio, Texas
Laurel Ridge offers a comprehensive continuum of behavioral healthcare services, including acute programs for children, adolescents, adults, as well as residential treatment for children and adolescents. Programs include: acute residential treatment, chemical dependency, and psychiatric acute care.
The behavioral health facility also offers an extensive 60-bed military specific unit, specializing in PTSD. Mission Resiliency provides mental health treatment to active duty Service Members for combat trauma, military sexual trauma (MST), substance abuse, and dual diagnosis.
The campus-style facility is located on 18
acres in San Antonio, Texas. Living units are located at one end of the campus. The facility includes a school building, gymnasium, recreational facility, playgrounds, swimming pool, ROPES (Reality-Oriented Physical Experiential Situation Course), library, computer lab & dining room.
CMTA provided MEP, IT, security and commissioning services for this 250-bed psychiatric hospital.
Project at a Glance Completed: 2020
Size: 61,600 SF
Construction Cost: $20M
Project Type: New Construction
New Behavioral Health Hospital
Baystate Health, Kindred Healthcare | Holyoke, Massachusetts
In and effort to address the shortage of behavioral health beds in the Holyoke region, Kindred Healthcare and Baystate Health formed a joint venture to build and operate a $43 million, 150-bed facility. This will increase patient access to inpatient behavioral healthcare for the area by more than 50 percent.
The facility supports a wide range of populations and is comprised of 72 beds for adults, 24 beds for child/adolescent, 24 beds for geriatric and 30 Continuing Care Inpatient Unit (CCU) beds to support the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.
The new, 13 acre campus is comprised of several structures connected by a pedway, and incorporates as much natural lighting as possible to promote a healing environment. The large four-story, 94,000 SF structure houses 120 beds, while an adjacent, one-story, 23,280 facility houses the DMH unit’s 30 beds. In addition, a standalone indoor gymnasium totals 4,150 SF.
Project at a Glance
Completed: 2022
Size: 120,780 SF; 150 Beds
Construction Cost: $43M
Project Type: New Construction
Tower Health Behavioral Campus
Acadia Healthcare, Tower Health | Reading, Pennsylvania
A joint-venture between Acadia Healthcare and Tower Health, this 90,809 square foot facility provides a full spectrum of behavioral health services in a safe, secure environment that’s conducive to short term healing and long-term recovery. With 144 beds, the hospital operates within 12 wings.
The comprehensive facility includes a general psychiatric unit, offering acute inpatient care for adults age 18 and older, a mood disorders unit for adults, children and adolescent pediatric units. In addition to inpatient services programs will include:
– Partial hospitalization program (PHP)
– Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
– Dual diagnosis services
– Outpatient counseling
– Physician services and consultations
In addition, dedicated area were created for recreation and group support. The 88-acre site (with 46 acres developed) also houses an adjacent two-story, 30,000 square foot medical office building.
Project at a Glance
Size: 90,809 SF; 144 Beds 144 beds
Cost: $29,000,000
Completed: 2020
Prairie St. John’s Behavioral Health Hospital
Universal Health Services | Fargo, North Dakota
Located in Fargo, ND, Prairie St. John’s was founded in 1997 to provide behavioral health services for children, adolescents, and adults. United Health Services, Inc. (UHS)‘s owners hired CMTA to design the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, technology, and security components for the new $37M Prairie St. John’s psychiatric hospital.
The 104,000 SF, 144-bed behavioral healthcare facility is located near the existing Prairie St. John’s and offers vast improvements for patients and staff. The new facility is expected to reduce utility costs by $150,000 to $200,000 annually.
CMTA’s engineering team members designed a healthcare facility that:
– Maximizes treatment and patient care space
– Increases interdisciplinary
team collaboration (including psychiatrists, internal medicine physicians, clinical pharmacists, social workers, psychologists, and therapists)
– Improves the natural light and behavioral healthcare-specific design
– Enhances clinical treatment models
– Equips the facility with specialized programming and physician-led, medicationassisted treatment, as well as outpatient care
– Incorporates Hawthorne Elementary neighborhood’s signature brick aesthetic throughout different design aspects
Additionally, due to the high probability of the Red River flooding and the location of the facility, design provi-
sions were incorporated to protect the building infrastructure during a flooding event. The major equipment related to the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems were installed on the second floor. For example, the domestic hot water service entrance, booster pump, and water softener were installed in a second floor mechanical room. Likewise, the main electrical switch gear and distribution panels were installed in a second floor electric room. The emergency generator was installed in a third floor generator room. CMTA worked with the architectural design team to define which spaces on the second floor needed direct access to grade level.
Project at a Glance
Completion: 2023
Size: 104,000 SF; 144 beds
Cost: $37,000,000
Project Type: New Build
Delivery Method: DBB with CM
Montrose Adult Behavioral Health Hospital
Acadia Healthcare | Chicago, Illinois
Located in the heart of uptown Chicago, the 51,685 SF Montrose Behavioral Health Hospital provides comprehensive behavioral health services. Built in 1961, the 5-story, 101-bed facility underwent a complete building renovation to modernize the facility and meet contemporary health standards.
CMTA partnered with Acadia Health to update the facility’s infrastructure within an aggressive 14-month construction timeline. By preserving only the original 1961 structural framework and adjusting the existing exterior envelope, the modernization process significantly reduced the carbon emissions typically associated with similar ground-up construction projects.
All new MEP systems were designed and installed within the skeleton of the existing structure. The hospital’s design concept, which took a mere 4 months to complete, focused heavily on improving indoor air quality (IAQ). To achieve this, MBHH gutted its redundant systems and integrated new technology, ensuring that building occupants breathe fresh air.
Additionally, the team incorporated sustainable design strategies by installing an emergency generator capable of supporting the entire hospital—without increasing the generator size beyond the code-minimum requirement for emergency power. This was accomplished by studying historical electrical demand trends from similar hospitals and introducing a series of automatic transfer switches with an intelligent load management sequence.
Project at a Glance
Completion: 2024
Size: 51,685 SF; 101 Beds
Cost: $36,100,000
Award
Merit Award finalist for renovation and adaptive reuse by the Chicago Building Congress (CBC).
TGH Behavioral Health Hospital
Lifepoint Health Tampa General Hospital JV | Tampa, Florida
The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital is the first and only freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital in Florida. The new fourstory, 120-bed facility will meet the state’s growing demands for mental health services while serving as an integral part of the Tampa Medical and Research District. Located on the northeast portion of the existing Tampa General Health Campus, the 90,000 SF facility includes 120 beds and features dedicated units for treating patients with behavioral health issues compounded by other medical conditions.
The new hospital is the result of a joint venture partnership between Tampa General and Lifepoint Behavioral Health. Tampa General Hospital will provide a number of facility and medical support services, while Lifepoint Behavioral Health will manage the day-to-day operations. Physicians
with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine will provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient care in specialized units for pediatrics, adolescents, adults, and geriatrics.
The facility will include areas for inpatient and outpatient patient services, dietary/dining, support services, exterior activity yards, and a gymnasium. A 24-bed shell unit is located on the fourth floor.
CMTA provided full MEP design, fire protection design, technology design and construction administration services for this new facility. The design followed FGI guidelines and required applicable codes for the state of Florida regarding building, MEP/FP systems, disaster preparedness and energy conservation codes.
Project at a Glance
Completion: 2024 Est.
Size: 90,055 SF; 120-Beds
Cost: $48M
Project Type: New Facility