The new maximum security state mental hospital in Fulton, Mo., will reflect the modern mental healthcare philosophies and practices that its staff is using, according to an article on the Missouri Net website.
While the present facility was designed for "warehousing" people, according to the project architect, the new design will be radically different.
“The present facility has been maligned for safety and security,” Vice President of Parsons Brinckerhoff, Tom Brooks-Pilling said. “When we’re designing this new facility, safety is paramount, because without the staff and patients feeling safe … your mind is elsewhere. It’s hard for you to focus on treatment programs.”
He said the new hospital won’t look or feel like a prison but it will have security measures like those in a modern penal facility with three perimeter security fences, a closed-circuit television system, and alarms that go off any time a staff person gets into a horizontal position.
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