Every year, the Department for Veteran Affairs (VA) publishes a best practice design guide for inpatient mental health and residential rehabilitation treatment program facilities.
As Donald L. Myers, Director of Facilities Standards Service, notes, the 500-page guide is created to "make the most effective and efficient use of resources, by providing a continuum of safe, secure, high quality, high performance, and high value environments of care and service"
It includes design standards for every aspect of the built environment - including the patient bedroom and bathroom. We're thrilled to have our soft suicide prevention door included as one of the three recommended options for bathroom doors.
"Soft suicide prevention doors can be used in the toilet/shower room application. The soft suicide prevention door eliminates door anchor points while contributing to the healing environment by providing a feeling of privacy without compromising staff access and patient safety. Soft suicide prevention doors also provide the opportunity to add graphics and colors to the door to enhance the therapeutic environment."
PG 18-12: INPATIENT MENTAL HEALTH (IPMH) & MENTAL HEALTH RESIDENTIAL REHABILITATION TREATMENT PROGRAM (MH RRTP) DESIGN GUIDE
You can access the full document here. Just a heads up - it's a very large file! It might take some time to load but the content is extremely valuable for anyone interested in the design of mental health facilities.
Want to find out more about our soft suicide prevention door for ligature risk reduction? You can reach out to me anytime!
t: 347 378 0174
e: james.randall@safehingeprimera.com
