Warfel Construction Helps Meet the Demand for Behavioral Health Facilities
East Petersburg, PA – The need for healthcare facilities dedicated to Behavioral Health has been on the rise. According to the “2023 State of Mental Health in America” by Mental Health America, 21% of the adults in this country are experiencing a mental illness. 15% of adults had a substance abuse disorder in the past year, while 93.5% did not receive treatment. Other factors include the opioid crisis, a volatile economy, an ongoing COVID pandemic, and social isolation.
Identifying Key Drivers
In addition to our growing population, this burgeoning demand for state-of-the-art BH facilities is driven by several factors, including:
• Increased Demand for Mental Health Services: Rising awareness of mental health and efforts to reduce stigma have contributed to an increased demand for services.
• Legislative Initiatives: Federal and state efforts have aimed to address mental health challenges. These initiatives can help contribute to the expansion of behavioral health facilities.
• Insurance Coverage Improvements: Improvements in insurance coverage for mental health services can make these services more accessible to a larger population.
• Community Advocacy and Awareness: Advocacy and awareness campaigns have helped reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues. As communities become more proactive in supporting mental health, there is likely to be increased pressure to expand infrastructure.
Building Hope with Warfel Construction
Individuals seeking mental health treatment require a safe, therapeutic, and supportive environment. Constructing a behavioral health facility demands careful planning and consideration of the needs of patients and staff alike. Warfel Construction has been a leader in the planning and construction of these specialized facilities.
Matthew Hartzler, LEED AP, Warfel Construction’s CEO, believes that behavioral health facilities must serve the entire community, which is a position that Warfel takes with all their construction projects.
“One of the things that we do is to help our clients create spaces that allow them to better serve their communities,” Hartzler said. “The behavioral health facilities that we build help communities to respond to the increased need for infrastructure, while at the same time ensuring that the design and construction methods provide a safe environment for patients and staff alike,” Hartzler stated.
According to Rusty Hoffman, Warfel’s Project Executive on many of their behavioral health construction jobs, safety is a top priority – for patients, staff, visitors, and the community.
“We have the expertise in navigating the myriad of regulations, codes, and zoning requirements on a local, state, and federal level,” Hoffman said. “In addition, the healthcare institution clients often have existing construction parameters that must be followed. These requirements include everything from sight lines for staff, window frame design, lighting, color schemes, entry and exit designs, emergency response protocols, and so much more,” Hoffman stated.
According to Hoffman, there is a long learning curve for construction companies taking on behavioral health facility projects.
“Warfel has developed relationships with the leading manufacturers of hardware and other materials that will meet the very specific requirements in building a behavioral health facility,” Hoffman stated. “For example, not all door or window frame manufacturers can attain certain safety standards that are required in these buildings, such as heavy-duty mag locks, tamper-resistant screws, stronger blocking on the wall for door mounting, pry-resistant frames, and more,” he said.
“Warfel’s first healthcare project was completed in 1923, and ever since, we’ve been committed to building state-of-the-art facilities that improve our clients’ ability to deliver best-in-class care for their patients,” he stated.
Even before Warfel’s team begins breaking ground, they work very closely with the client and design consultants in the pre-production phase to make certain that they make design decisions that ensure the facility will be safe, therapeutic, and functional for patients, staff, and visitors.
“These decisions help the healthcare workers in their day-to-day operation of the facility,” Hoffman said. “This includes critical issues such as line of sight from stations to patient rooms, courtyard wall construction that prevents climbing opportunities, integration of security packages and motion detection in rooms, interlocking vestibules, accessibility for individuals with physical disabilities, and layouts that limit patient movement and provide additional layers of safety for patients and staff,” he stated.
Warfel’s team focuses on a wide range of issues that could create potential unsafe conditions to patients. These points of risk range from the style of the handle on a fire extinguisher cabinet to the design of ceiling fittings and door hinges.
“We use specific materials and construction methods to help reduce or prevent injury or loss of life,” Hoffman stated. “This includes no access to electrical outlets by patients, lighting design that prevents access through ceilings, and even the design of the cubby holes in their rooms. We understand how to install specific drywall finishes that are flush so patients can’t get behind them,” he said.
Each behavioral health facility is unique. Geriatric facilities must incorporate a larger number of handrails on the walls, while a facility serving adolescent patients will require beefed-up door frames and impact-resistant drywall that is easily replaceable. Psychiatric facilities require windows with specific designs and materials that ensure everyone’s safety. Currently, only two manufacturers supply windows that meet these requirements, and Warfel has developed long-term relationships with these companies.
“Our facilities are created with the comfort and convenience of the patients and staff in mind. Many of our behavioral health projects feature outdoor courtyards and incorporate designs to allow everyone with the ability to move freely throughout the facility,” Hoffman added.
When integrating a courtyard into a facility’s design, strict attention must be given to certain layout and material choices to ensure safety. This includes ensuring that window frames are not too close to a wall or fence, wall materials that prevent scaling, and distances between walls that help prevent patients from propelling themselves up and over an adjacent wall.
“Warfel has developed a rigorous process to ensure that we maintain full documentation of the entire project,” Hoffman said. “There will be infection control inspections that are required to process a certificate of occupancy, life safety inspections that are performed by the Department of Health within each state, field offices that trigger a facility inspection, and joint commissions that perform surveys before occupation. There are always gaps of varying timeframes between each of those inspections. These time gaps can create significant issues if a construction firm is not familiar with the process, and severely impact the facility’s first patient dates,” he said.
Safety is always a top priority, but even more so when working on a behavioral health facility project. “There are many considerations when renovating an existing facility to ensure the safety of patients, team members, trade partners, suppliers, and healthcare workers. This means going above and beyond OSHA requirements to maintain high standards of safety in each aspect of a behavioral health project. Each Warfel employee, from laborer to job site superintendent, is empowered to hold their teammates accountable,” Hoffman said.
“Behavioral healthcare renovation projects require effective constant communication with the clinical professionals affected by the scope of work, such as a lead clinical physician or nurse practitioner, nurse manager, patient floor unit clerk, environmental services manager, hospital patients, and their families,” he added.
Warfel employs ASHE and CHC-certified team members who are dedicated to creating and maintaining the safest healing environments for patients, medical personnel, and guests. “We take measurable precautions and optimize phasing to ensure your ability to deliver care and assure that daily operations are not disrupted,” Hoffman stated.
Construction professionals working in the healthcare construction arena will frequently find themselves in contact with various people on active healthcare job sites who may not be present on other projects. According to Hoffman, “Some of these include full-time project management representatives employed by our clients, third-party owners’ construction representatives, life safety inspectors from the State Department of Health, reviewers from the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Hospitals, medical imaging equipment vendors and installers, and, on occasion, hospital executives on a periodic walkthrough to observe construction progress,” Hoffman said.
Client Testimonials
Ralph Muller, former CEO of Penn Medicine, spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Penn Medicine LGH/UHS Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital. He remarked, “I told somebody that this building behind me must have been constructed elsewhere, then airlifted in. Because there’s no way that you can build a building this fast in modern healthcare!”
S. Adam Gravley, Senior Project Manager, Facilities Design & Construction for Acadia Healthcare, said, “A project of this complexity could have become unmanageable, but Warfel did a great job with communication and was always available to each member of the broader team. They always brought solutions to me, not just the challenge. This is an invaluable trait in a general contractor in my opinion.” This was regarding the Acadia Healthcare/Tower Health Behavioral Health Hospital in Reading, PA.
In a client testimonial letter for ABC Keystone Excellence in Construction awards regarding the Acadia Healthcare/Tower Health/Concord Healthcare Behavioral Health Medical Office Building in Reading, PA, Karl Hodges, Vice President of Concord Healthcare wrote, “The Warfel Construction team performed exceptionally well and was instrumental in completing the project under budget and on time. The Warfel Construction project team worked effectively with the architects and engineers, the subcontractors, the township officials, and the CHD Reading, LLC team, and were honest, fair, and transparent in all interactions and dealings.”
Industry Recognitions
Building Design+Construction’s “Giants 400 Report” ranks the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. Warfel was included in the rankings for:
• Top 115 Healthcare Construction Firms for 2023
• Top 90 Hospital Facility Construction Firms for 2023
• Top 60 Senior Living Facility Construction Firms for 2023
• Top 100 Construction Management Firms for 2023
• Top 150 Contractors for 2023
In addition, Warfel was recognized by ENR (Engineering News-Record) Top 400 Ranked #370 in 2019 and 2020, and by ENR Mid-Atlantic as Contractor of the Year in 2020.
Warfel was named one of ABC’s Top Performers 2023 nationally by the Associated Builders & Contractors. Warfel ranked #78 in overall Top 250 Performers, #38 in Top General Contractors, and #16 in Top Healthcare Contractors.
Behavioral Health, Counseling Facility Renovations, and Substance Abuse/Addiction Recovery Projects
A few of the behavioral health facilities that Warfel has recently constructed include:
- Acadia Healthcare Southwood Psychiatric Hospital
o Pittsburgh, PA
o $37.3 million
o Beds: 108
- MeadowWood Behavioral Health Hospital Expansion and Renovations
o New Castle, DE
o $9.7 million
o Beds: 74
- Acadia Healthcare/Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Northeast
o Moosic, PA
o $39.1 million
o Beds: 96
- Acadia Healthcare/Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Danville
o Danville, PA
o $38 million
o Beds: 96
- Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital
o Lancaster, PA
o $39 million
o Beds: 128
- Tower Health Behavioral Care Pavilion
o Reading, PA
o $53.5 million
o Beds: 144
- Behavioral Health Hospital & Medical Office Building Renovations
o Reading, PA
o $11.3 million
- UPMC Hanover Hospital Emergency Department Renovations (included Behavioral Health Suite)
o Hanover, PA
o $4.8 million
o Beds: 5 non-overnight/emergent
- Gemma Services Plymouth Meeting Facility Interior Renovations
o Plymouth Meeting, PA
o $158,400
- Lancaster County Children’s Alliance Counseling Center Fit Out
o Lancaster, PA
o $497,000
- New Horizons Counseling Lancaster Office Renovations
o Lancaster, PA
o $441,000
- PA Counseling Services Lancaster Office Renovations
o Lancaster, PA
o $2.1 million
- Penn State Health Counseling Office Renovations
o Lancaster, PA
o $479,900
- Samaritan Center Lancaster Counseling Office Renovations
o Lancaster, PA
o $1.2 million
- Acadia Healthcare Huntington Creek Recovery Center Expansion
o Shickshinny, PA
o $2.4 million
o 12 Beds
- Bowling Green Brandywine Treatment Center Expansion & Renovations
o Kennett Square, PA
o $659,600
o 19 Beds
- Connections Health Solutions Chantilly Facility Interior Renovations
o Chantilly, VA
o $600,000
o 16 Beds
- Promises Behavioral Health, The Ranch ADA Upgrades & Entry Renovations
o Wrightsville, PA
o $260,800
About Warfel Construction Company
Established in 1911, Warfel Construction Company provides general construction and construction management services to clients throughout Pennsylvania, Virginia, and surrounding states. Visit Warfel online at warfelcc.com.
