Bringing emergency crisis care access to Central Pennsylvania

Connections Health Solutions - Dauphin County Crisis Walk-In Center

Connections Health Solutions is a national leader in emergency behavioral health crisis care. They wanted to improve access to emergency crisis care and stabilization services across central Pennsylvania particularly in Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry Counties. They reached out to us to help create a regional emergency walk-in behavioral health crisis center and a mobile crisis response program that would serve the tri-county area.

We provided medical planning, architecture, interior design, furniture selection, signage, and low voltage design services. Using Dauphin County’s natural beauty as inspiration, we designed a trauma-informed, empathetic, and therapeutic environment for patients experiencing a crisis. In programs such as these—where it’s difficult or impossible to gain access to the outdoors for fresh air due to site constraints—we brought the outside in.

People have an innate connection to nature that provides a calming response by lowering their blood pressure. We infused nature into the design through local inspired imagery and biophilic elements. In particular, Connections Health Solutions hired a local photographer to capture nature images inspired by Central Pennsylvania, which we then had printed on impact resistant panels for use throughout the center.

The new walk-in regional emergency center offers crisis stabilization and behavioral health services to youth and adults experiencing behavioral health and substance use crises. This center serves all individuals ages 14-plus in need of emergency care and treatment and is open 24 hours a day year round.