E33 – Unified Spaces, Unified Care: Designing Community-Based Public Health Campuses for Integrated, Equitable Care
As communities confront rising behavioral health demand, workforce shortages, and widening health inequities, public health facilities must evolve from siloed service buildings into integrated, community-centered care hubs. This session examines how Perkins&Will, in partnership with Johnson County, Kansas designed a 130,000 SF integrated Health Services Building that not only co-locates Mental Health, Health & Environment, and Aging & Human Services but also integrates the care within a single, unified campus.
Designed as a community-based public health anchor, the project advances Public Health 3.0 by aligning space, operations, and workforce needs to support whole-person care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and equitable access, particularly relevant for rural and underserved populations. The presentation moves beyond form-making to demonstrate how trauma-informed, universal, and biophilic design strategies directly support care integration, staff wellbeing, and long-term adaptability.
Attendees will gain transferable design and planning strategies for public-sector and community-based healthcare projects, showing how architecture can strengthen public health delivery, reduce barriers to care, and future-ready facilities amid changing community needs.
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