Prior to the pandemic, 25% of Americans were diagnosed with a mental health disorder, and recent reports show that those numbers have now increased to 53% suffering from mental health issues. This is further compounded by treatment that typically takes place in institutional-like facilities that isolate rather than heal. Yet new healthcare environments, such as the Ohana Center for Health funded by Roberta Buffet, which offers inpatient, outpatient and community care for children and adolescents, is changing this narrative.
The design of Ohana, which means extended family in Hawaiian, unites the latest in neuroscience research to provide a healing environment for children and teens and also boost wellbeing for behavioral health caregivers, who have an annual turnover rate of more than 40%. Key features include vegetable gardens for therapy, an outdoor amphitheatre for group classes and private patios for staff to recharge.
Ohana redefines the behavioral healthcare environment with natural, cost-effective materials like cross-laminated timber (CLT), a type of pre-fabricated engineered wood that is rarely used in healthcare projects. As one of the largest healthcare buildings to use CLT, the facility benefits from its low carbon impact, its modular components that can be assembled off-site to reduce cost and schedules, and its anxiety-lowering properties. Its simple geometry allows the project to achieve a high-impact, low-cost design so the majority of the budget goes toward the care, rather than the building itself.
The design creates a series of large outdoor cloisters, patios and terraced spaces from more public to private that provide calm, restoration and safety. Flowing water winds through the site; prospect and refuge spaces give patients privacy alongside wide vistas of nature; and gardens with immune-boosting plants like lavender and rosemary offer spaces for therapy and music.
Exercise increases executive function, a skillset proven to reduce mental illness and mitigate burnout. Ohana features a gym at the centre, and weaves indoor-outdoor spaces together, gently encouraging nature walks and other forms of outdoor exercise for patients and caregivers. This can also help promote productive engagement and personal agency by providing patients diverse activities, and the welcoming spaces for them, to build meaningful and supportive connections.