With behavioral health-related needs on the rise in New Jersey, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center chose to sustainably invest in and expand their Emergency Department to provide critical behavioral health treatments for patients, increase access, and deepen the services they provide their community.
RSC Architects’ fluid and creative approach to solving this volume and capacity challenge involved expanding the existing Emergency Department into an adjacent and underutilized Bergen New Bridge Medical Center outpatient space. Through this expansion, diversions and wait times will decrease, and the growing number of behavioral health-related patients arriving at the Emergency Department will be safely accommodated away from contagious patients in a manner that improves patient flow and circulation.
Guided by the EmPATH model, this dedicated substance abuse and behavioral care unit will support patients in crisis in a stigma-free manner, with dignity and compassionate care.
RSC’s work involved decanting and relocating an existing behavioral health outpatient program in order to provide room for the Emergency Department expansion, partially renovating the existing Emergency Department, and performing the gut renovation and fit-out of the new Behavioral Health Emergency Department. Bergen New Bridge Medical Center’s expanded 22,700 s.f. Emergency Department now includes twenty-nine new single-patient behavioral health treatment rooms and various support spaces.
