Patient Safety

• Humanizing Behavioral Health: SmithGroup’s Vision for Healing Spaces

  July 7, 2025

  

  From personal experiences with mental health facilities to innovative funding solutions, SmithGroup brings a noticeable human perspective to their work. Their latest project for Los Angeles County demonstrates how this approach transforms behavioral health design, one carefully considered detail at a time.

• Stephen Parker: Defying Stigma by Dignity-Driven Design

  February 7, 2024

  

  Some stigma and misunderstanding still surrounds behavioral healthcare facilities within the architecture field. Stephen Parker advocates for humanizing psychiatric spaces through intentional design choices that promote dignity, starting with patient autonomy and agency.

• Whitehall’s Journey in Behavioral Health Design Innovation

  October 26, 2023

  

  We remain committed to learning from and collaborating with our customers and hope they’ll continue relying on our expertise, as well. Together we can achieve something remarkable in behavioral healthcare.

• AJ Thomas: Designing Dementia Care Spaces

  March 28, 2023

  

  When it comes to designing facilities for the care of persons with dementia in the U.S., there are no codes, standards, or even robust guidelines to follow. AJ Thomas and his peers at Corgan have set out to create guidelines for inpatient and outpatient dementia-friendly healthcare design.

• Compact Sink/Eye Wash for New USP <800> Compliance

  April 29, 2021

  

  USP <800> details various safety procedures and requirements related to the handling of hazardous drugs. A hand washing sink and eyewash station must now be available in any environment where HDs are being compounded, a potential challenge when space is limited.

• Scott Holmes: Human-Centered Design & Patient Safety in Behavioral Healthcare

  March 16, 2021

  

  When confined by a limited budget, behavioral healthcare facilities often make compromises on design. BWBR’s Human-Centered Safety® approach is not only designed to speed recovery while keeping all parties safe, but also to ensure that small budgets don’t result in less than satisfactory outcomes.

• Whitehall Manufacturing Partners with W.D. Manor on Labor-Saving Dialysis Box

  February 23, 2021

  

  Whitehall is partnering with W.D. Manor to bring the industry’s only prefabricated modular dialysis box to market. This all-inclusive unit is designed with patient safety and the needs of healthcare facilities, designers, and construction teams top of mind.

• Michele Cohen: Making Emergency Mental Healthcare Safe & Welcoming

  December 4, 2020

  

  Read our interview with Michele Cohen, principal at NORR, and get her take on addressing the design challenges brought on by the rise of patients presenting with mental health issues at hospital Emergency Departments.

• The Need for Healthcare Design with Bariatric Patients in Mind

  September 14, 2020

  

  Healthcare providers are apt to interact with a relatively higher percentage of obese patients due to related conditions. Prepare your healthcare facility to meet their needs through universal design.

• Ligature-Resistant Products’ Role in Emergency Rooms

  June 16, 2014

  

  An alarming problem is spreading in many communities across the United States. Hospital emergency rooms are seeing a rise in the number of persons under mental distress being admitted, and they are not equipped to deal with them properly.