North Carolina's Hefner VA Medical Center opened a new $16 million, 79,000-square-foot acute psychiatric facility. The new building (Building 8) was designed with safety in mind and rooms, floors and group areas are homier and less institutional, according to an article on the Salisbury Post website.

The facility has screened-in porches and open floor plans and was designed to promote a healing environment for veterans, the article said.

The mental health facility is undertaking four projects scheduled to be completed over a three-year period. They have a total price tag of $27 million.

The four projects are:

• Project 1 - renovated the first floor of Building 4 (immediately adjacent to Building 8) for outpatient care. It included a new welcome center, and that project was completed in 2012.

• Project 2 - included the 79,000-square-foot Building 8

• Project 3 - will renovate the second and third floors in Building 4 for outpatient programs. Construction is expected to start on those floors this summer.

• Project 4 - will renovate Building 11 for residential care beds. It’s supposed to be ready by fiscal year 2016.

Read the article.