Market: Behavioral Health

Overview of Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital

The Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital project brought a new 74,000 square foot behavioral health facility to Lancaster, Pennsylvania through a joint venture between Penn Medicine and Universal Health Services. The hospital includes 128 patient beds organized across two 16-bed units and four 24-bed units. In addition, the facility incorporates a children’s unit alongside a med-psych unit intended for patients with more intensive medical concerns. Behavioral health services within the hospital also include inpatient care for older adults. The facility additionally incorporates outpatient and day-treatment programs for patients with substance abuse disorders.

Planning and Coordination for Behavioral Health Services

The hospital adopted a Lean/IPD delivery approach throughout planning and construction of the facility. Warfel collaborated closely with the broader project team while drawing from the experience and knowledge of multiple partners throughout the process. This collaborative approach helped identify practical and cost-effective construction solutions during development of the hospital. In addition, preconstruction coordination meetings established detailed game plans with trade partners, helping crews operate more efficiently while reducing duplicated efforts across the jobsite.

Virtual Design and Construction Integration

Virtual Design and Construction efforts remained heavily integrated throughout development of Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital. Clash detection studies, constructability reviews, and virtual illustrations helped teams identify coordination issues before they affected field progress. At the same time, 3D models were used directly on the jobsite. These models gave field crews a clearer understanding of building systems and sequencing activities, helping teams respond more quickly as construction activities progressed.

Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital Delivery

As a fast-tracked healthcare project, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital relied on Pull-Planning to help maintain schedule performance throughout construction. Trade contractors communicated directly with one another throughout construction. Crews also remained aware of how individual scopes affected surrounding work. This planning approach helped crews maintain a smoother workflow across the project while responding quickly to changing construction conditions. Warfel’s coordination efforts and Pull-Planning approach helped crews stay aligned throughout the fast-tracked hospital construction schedule.

Southwood Psychiatric Inpatient Hospital Expansion

This three-story addition to the existing Southwood Psychiatric Inpatient Hospital for Acadia Healthcare adds 66,371 square feet of space. It also provides 108 new inpatient beds. This significantly expands the facility’s capacity to serve children and adolescents facing behavioral health challenges. In addition to residential and inpatient treatment services, the new space includes a wide variety of recreational amenities. These amenities are designed to support both physical and mental well-being. Most notably, the addition includes a full track and basketball court, creating an environment that promotes movement, engagement, and healing.

Navigating Southwood Psychiatric Inpatient Hospital Site Challenges

Located in Pittsburgh, PA, this project presented its fair share of site-specific challenges. During early site preparation and grading, our team discovered an unexpected utility conflict. The hospital’s primary power line ran from Boyce Plaza Road into the existing facility. It was located directly beneath the proposed building pad for the new addition. This unexpected obstacle threatened to delay the schedule by approximately six weeks. Relocation of the power line was a prerequisite for continuing with foundation work.

Instead of accepting this delay as inevitable, Warfel’s team proactively evaluated the construction schedule and identified a solution. By re-sequencing the work, the team created an access road behind the future building. This allowed us to pour the slab-on-grade and slab-on-deck on the rear half of the building. At the same time, steel erection progressed on the front half. This strategic adjustment allowed construction to move forward despite the utility conflict. It also mitigated the delay and kept the project aligned with the overall timeline.

Leveraging Prior Experience for Long-Term Success

Drawing on our previous experience with Acadia Healthcare projects, our team brought deep knowledge of the owner’s standards. This was particularly important in building envelope performance. Early in the project, we led a collaborative review of window flashing details. This review included the design team and building envelope consultant. This proactive approach ensures a durable, high-performing building. It also reinforces our shared commitment to long-term value.

Building for a Better Future

Partnering with Acadia Healthcare on this important facility underscores our dedication to advancing access to behavioral health services. These services make a lasting difference in the communities we serve.

Overview of Centerville Family Medicine

The Centerville Family Medicine New Location in Lancaster, Pennsylvania continued Warfel’s work with Penn Medicine/Lancaster General Health. On a relatively small plot, the 9,000-square-foot clinic required careful planning. The design focused on efficient space utilization while making room for the building and ample parking. Because every part of the site needed purpose, the project connected access, stormwater, design, and patient experience. The result is a clinic that feels welcoming and practical without letting the compact property define the experience.

Centerville Family Medicine Site Strategy

Centerville Family Medicine needed a site strategy that made the parking area work harder. Instead of treating stormwater as a separate challenge, the design integrated that system with the parking lot. Permeable paving and an underground retention basin helped manage water within the limited site. In turn, the solution met parking needs while promoting environmental sustainability. This kept the property efficient while creating a clear arrival experience for patients and staff.

Exterior Design and Building Form

The clinic’s facade uses high-end finishes, including a thin brick panelized system and architectural block elements. Expansive glass storefronts bring natural light into the building and help the entry feel more open. Behind the finished exterior, a steel structural frame supports the flat-roofed medical office. A concrete slab-on-grade foundation also gives the building a stable base. Together, these choices create a polished exterior that feels approachable for everyday patient care.

Interior Finishes and Patient Experience

Inside, modern finishes balance durability with a more comfortable patient experience. A metal panel ceiling system gives the clinic a clean, contemporary look. Meanwhile, rustic wood paneling adds warmth and character along an accent wall. Resilient flooring helps manage high-traffic use while keeping the interior inviting. At the entry, a curved solid surface reception desk with glass panels creates a refined first impression. Decorative accent lighting also helps the clinic feel more welcoming for patients and staff.

Project Completion and Healthcare Construction

The HVAC and electrical systems were selected for performance, energy efficiency, and reliability. Together with the site planning and interior finishes, these systems support a clinic built for daily use. For Warfel, the completed Centerville Family Medicine location came down to careful, practical choices: making the most of a compact site while creating a comfortable experience for patients and staff.

Overview of Behavioral Health Hospital

The Behavioral Health Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania is a 144-bed facility for Acadia Healthcare and Tower Health. The hospital provides a full spectrum of behavioral health services. It operates within 12 wings, organizing several care types within one building. Its services include inpatient psychiatric care, outpatient counseling, physician professional services, consultation, and chemical dependency treatment. Rather than focusing on one treatment path, the facility brings several behavioral health programs into one setting. This structure gives the hospital a clear service identity based on the range of care listed in the project scope.

Care Areas in the Behavioral Health Hospital

Within the 12-wing layout, inpatient services include adolescent, adult, and geriatric psychiatric care. These care areas organize treatment by population while remaining part of the larger hospital program. The facility also includes spaces for patients who need structured inpatient psychiatric treatment. This part of the program establishes the hospital’s core inpatient capacity and defines how age-specific care fits within the broader facility. Because the program includes multiple patient populations, the facility brings age-specific care into the larger hospital.

Outpatient Services and Treatment Programs

Beyond inpatient services, the hospital includes partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient program services. Outpatient counseling extends the facility’s care model for patients who do not require inpatient admission. Physician professional services and consultation are also part of the program. In addition, chemical dependency treatment adds another service line within the overall behavioral health offering. Together, these programs show how the hospital addresses different levels of care within one facility, from inpatient treatment to outpatient support.

Warfel’s Role in Behavioral Health Hospital

Warfel’s construction management work centered on a program with many care pathways, rather than a single department. The 144-bed, 12-wing layout brings inpatient, outpatient, consultation, and chemical dependency services into one facility for Acadia Healthcare and Tower Health. The completed hospital presents behavioral health care through its service mix, age-group programs, and varied treatment settings. Together, these elements define the facility through its patient groups, program range, and behavioral health service model.

Overview of Behavioral Health Center Northeast

The Behavioral Health Center Northeast project in Moosic, Pennsylvania was developed for Acadia Healthcare and Geisinger. The facility was designed to serve a wide variety of behavioral health conditions. Rather than centering on one type of care, the building organizes treatment through patient units and shared resources. Those patient units include noisy and quiet activity rooms, group therapy suites, exam areas, and consult spaces. Meanwhile, the broader program includes a dining hall, gymnasium, larger group therapy rooms, full kitchen, and administrative areas. Outdoor activity yards on each patient wing add another layer to the daily care setting. Therefore, the plan accounts for treatment, activity, operations, and outdoor space within the same building.

Patient Units in Behavioral Health Center Northeast

Behavioral Health Center Northeast arranges patient units around specific activity and treatment needs. Noisy and quiet activity rooms give each wing separate spaces for different programming. Group therapy suites create dedicated settings for shared sessions. Exam and consult spaces provide areas for more focused clinical interactions. Because the program includes activity, therapy, exam, and consult spaces, each wing carries more than one care function. That mix gives the hospital a layered plan shaped around daily patient use, staff access, and varied treatment needs.

Shared Resources and Daily Care Areas

Beyond the patient units, shared resources help shape the rhythm of care within the hospital. The dining hall and full kitchen provide spaces connected to daily meals and operations. Larger group therapy rooms and the gymnasium create settings for programming, movement, and shared activities. Outdoor activity yards located on each patient wing extend those spaces beyond the interior environment. Administrative areas round out the building program, keeping operational functions within the same overall facility. As a result, the hospital is not defined only by patient rooms. Its program brings clinical, therapeutic, administrative, and activity-focused spaces into one behavioral health setting.

Healthcare Construction and Facility Delivery

Warfel’s healthcare construction work focused on assembling a facility shaped around varied behavioral health treatment needs. Patient units, therapy areas, shared resources, outdoor activity yards, and administrative functions were arranged throughout the hospital as part of one coordinated care environment. Rather than following a single-use medical layout, the completed facility reflects a broader behavioral health program organized around patient activity, treatment settings, and daily support spaces.

Overview of Hanover Hospital Emergency Department

The Hanover Hospital Emergency Department renovations in Hanover, Pennsylvania updated existing hospital space for UPMC through a multi-phased renovation. The work began with comprehensive demolition of approximately half of the existing emergency department, along with two additional hospital interior spaces. That demolition opened room for new patient care, staff, security, treatment, and technology areas within the department. Rather than treating the work as a single upgrade, the renovation addressed several connected functions inside the hospital.

Hanover Hospital Emergency Department Behavioral Health Pod

The Hanover Hospital Emergency Department renovations included a new isolated Behavioral Health Pod within the renovated department. This area contains five patient rooms, a nurse’s station, and a lounge-style waiting area. The pod creates a distinct setting within the emergency department while remaining tied to the larger renovation scope. Its layout gives behavioral health-related care a clearly defined area within the updated department.

Patient Intake, Treatment, and Support Areas

The renovation added spaces tied directly to patient arrival, intake, treatment, and department support. A new entry vestibule, waiting room, and triage area help organize the front end of the emergency department. Fast-track treatment rooms create dedicated areas for care needs that move through a different treatment path. Staff work rooms, a security office, and a dedicated IT/data equipment room add support functions within the renovated hospital space.

Construction Management and Renovation Scope

Warfel’s construction management work fit the project’s multi-phased renovation scope, which required comprehensive demolition and careful sequencing across connected hospital areas. The completed renovation brings behavioral health, intake, treatment, staff, security, and technology spaces together within the updated emergency department. This approach reflects the full scope of work while keeping each renovated area tied to the department’s larger care environment. The work also strengthened how each space functions within the overall department.