Assessing risk in behavioral healthcare facilities

Safety has always been a priority in behavioral health facility design, but an increase in inpatients harming themselves or others appears has brought the issue to the forefront, according to an article on the FacilityCare website.

The Center for Health Design conducted a three-year research project that culminated in a presentation of their Safety Risk Assessment Toolkit, according to an article 

The toolkit encourages hospitals and designers think together about the questions included. Each is rated based on level of concern for the specific facility.       

The “Patient Safety Risk Assessment Matrix” in the guide addresses the amount of supervision a patient will have in the space considering all of its potential uses and the maximum level of intent for self-harm of any patient who may use that space.

Read the article.