In Houston's well-known Sunnyside area, the Sunnyside Health & Multi-Service Center has officially opened to the public. This clinic is helping to increase access to healthcare. Vaughn worked on the new psychiatric treatment center jointly operated by Texas Health and Human Services and the University of Texas Health Science Center as construction manager-at-risk. The clinic will contribute to improved healthcare access in Houston's famed Sunnyside district.
The Center will assist the historic Sunnyside neighborhood of Houston in getting more health services. Community members will have access to senior services, mental health services, family planning, services for women and children, reintegration programs for people who have previously been incarcerated, recovery programs to fight the opioid epidemic, and other services.
"I believe that this was another opportunity for Vaughn to embody our purpose in the work we create,” said a Vaughn project manager. “The structure was built as a tilt wall construction building to accomplish the scale of the building within the budget. We were charged with building a structure that the neighborhood could be proud of and that would not be dismissed as a straightforward tilt wall building.”
Two patient room towers and a central plant make up the complex. With single and double occupancy rooms, group therapy rooms, seclusion rooms, quiet rooms, day rooms, visiting rooms, a therapy mall, and secure outdoor spaces, these patient sections were created with a sense of community and a homey setting in mind. The facility's personnel areas also include instructional areas, nurse stations, break rooms, offices, and a pharmacy. The entire facility was built with patient safety, staff productivity, and workflow in mind. To ensure that the patients are in a secure and protected environment, anti-ligature components were used in all of the patient spaces.