Under the Lights

Athletic Facilities Take Center Stage in Establishing School Identities

By Amy Perry

Athletic and recreational facilities play an important role in the development of students at all levels of education. Whether they are used for academic programs, extracurricular activities or competitive spaces, gymnasiums and playing fields offer an alternative to indoor curricula and a chance for students to build skills outside the classroom.

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Guided by Green

When planners sat down to design the new Jefferson County Health Center in Fairfield, Iowa, they started with a unique repertoire of tools and direction.

The 115,000 square-foot, $25 million replacement facility for the existing 25-bed acute care hospital needed to make the most of its rural attributes while ascribing to the Green Guide for Health Care — a best practices guide for healthy and sustainable building design, construction and operations.

The Rural Angle

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Safety & Security

When the doors to the new Oklahoma Department of Mental Health’s Forensic Center in Vinita opened in July 2008, patients and staff were welcomed into a medical facility offering the latest in technology and patient safety.

Four years ago, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health retained PSA-Dewberry, a national architectural firm, to design the new 200-bed forensic center that houses patients deemed incompetent to stand trial and those judged not guilty by reason of insanity.

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Main Street America

History is often the element that ties people in rural communities together, but if that history also applies to an active healthcare facility, the community could have a problem on its hands.

Until the recent opening of a replacement hospital, Bell Memorial Hospital in Ishpeming, Mich., held the distinction of being the oldest hospital in the state. The 90-year-old facility was crumbling as it continued to serve patients from the former mining communities at the midpoint of Michigan’s isolated upper peninsula.

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