Designing for inclusive healthcare on campus

In response to more students reporting mental health challenges, colleges and universities are rethinking their approach to student health centers. Instead of offering limited health services in tucked-away buildings, today’s student health centers are campus focal points for health and wellness on campus. By integrating comprehensive health services in a space that’s comfortable and easy to navigate, these health centers are making it easier for students to take charge of their health. 

The transition to college is the first time many students will independently seek healthcare. Through design, we make the process feel more approachable by creating a welcoming environment that sheds the stigma of receiving care for any type of physical or mental health related issue. This idea of inclusive healthcare means understanding the needs of the campus community and designing spaces and experiences that allow all students — regardless of their condition or identity — to feel a sense of belonging while receiving high-quality care.

For example, removing the names of services on signage in waiting areas preserves students’ privacy. Carving out transition zones between the outdoors and interior spaces can help students feel relaxed as they move throughout the building. An operational model built on flexible, multipurpose room utilization allows clinicians to easily adapt to students’ daily needs. Whether a student needs an annual checkup, mental health counseling, nutritional guidance or sexual health and gynecology (and not just for women), we design student health centers to be welcoming, powerful resources for all students.

Here’s a closer look at some of our recent student health center projects that are supporting healthy lifestyles on campus:

University of South Florida Student Health and Wellness Center 

The Student Health and Wellness Center at the University of South Florida is a 50,500-square-foot hub for healthy lifestyles on campus. The building was designed at the height of the COVID pandemic and serves as a model for employing design to respond to students’ immediate health needs. The building’s large covered outdoor space is a solution designed specifically to allow practitioners to test and potentially treat students safely during pandemics. Other design elements to prevent the spread of airborne infection include the fully exhausted Urgent Care suite that contains a dedicated entry from outdoors.

The building’s interior spaces are designed to elevate the student experience, with a focus on providing a calming journey throughout the building. The key spaces for general medicine, sexual health, pharmacy, urgent care, physical therapy and beyond are spacious and flexible, and feature modern furniture and equipment to support a smooth visit. The waiting rooms on each floor are designed to constantly reorient students to a view of the outdoor wellness courtyard, fostering a sense of relaxation and patience as they prepare to be served. 

Oregon State University Health Center 

Oregon State University’s Health Center, designed by SRG + CannonDesign, is a hub for health and wellness services on campus. The 25,000-square-foot clinic is prominently located and uses a patient-based care model to provide comprehensive healthcare to students, OSU employees and the surrounding community. From urgent care to treatment for chronic conditions, the modern facility provides high-quality care for patients and a collaborative working environment for clinicians. It’s designed for future flexibility with an infrastructure built in to convert office space to additional exam rooms in the future, if necessary.

The health center’s spacious corridors and plentiful views of the outdoors create a calming atmosphere to help students feel comfortable when seeking or receiving the care they need. Aligning with this mission, the clinic provides mental and physical health services in the same size room and on the same hallway. This layout reduces the stigma of walking into a mental health clinic, reinforces the mind-body connection and promotes whole body care.

The building also includes flexible rooms that accommodate a breadth of wellness programming such as alcohol and drug prevention education, interpersonal violence prevention and sleep health workshops. Leveraging color association to signal a welcoming and safe environment, the building’s interior walls feature natural colors pulled from the surrounding landscape in the lobby and softer, more calming hues throughout the clinical spaces.

University of Florida Student Health Care Center 

The vision for the University of Florida’s Student Health Care Center extended beyond the traditional scope, aiming to nurture students’ well-being rather than primarily treat illness. Replacing an infirmary built in 1932, the new 46,000-square-foot building is home to primary care, specialty and urgent care services, including sports medicine and acute care, gynecology and sexual health, psychiatry, nutrition and radiology. The center also includes a full-service pharmacy where students have access to prescription and over-the-counter medications along with basic health and wellness products.  

The new facility marks the university’s first building using the WELL Building Standard, a framework for the creation and certification of spaces to enhance human health and well-being. It is also the first WELL-certified university student healthcare center globally. Grounded in scientific research, WELL establishes performance standards for design, operations and policies to promote health and wellness. 

These three student health centers underscore how the collaboration between our healthcare and education design experts leads to spaces that not only prioritize student well-being but also reflect the highest standards of healthcare, right on campus.