Evening star., 1955-11-27
BY MIRIAM OTTENBERG

lsioner Thomas A. Lanes de-
mands for more Justification
are much less elaborate than
similar buildings being COM
pleted elsewhere in the coun-
TRY, reports from architects and
hospital construction experts
showed last night.
Gen. Lane. in rejecting the
latest justification. said he
merely wished to find out If the
design were in line with we'll
established standards for this
type of construction.
Plans for half a dozen fairly
comparable rstitutions show the
square footage per hospital bed
varies from approximately $40
square feet to over 1000 square
feet.
Plans for the psychiatric
building for District General
Hospital show 697 square feet
per bed and closer to 900 square
feet per bed If out-patient facil-
itieS are deducted.
Precedent Explained
( Asked to comment on Gen.
Lanes demand for "well-estab-
llished standards" Aston G. Gut
tersen, architect with the archi-
tectural study project of the
American Psychiatric Association
told The Star:
"Our precedent for design of
facilities for mental patients is
based on that time when the
only program in mental hospitals
was custodial care.
Now, however, well-organized
medical programs for treatment
of mental patients are possible
and we are still in the stage of
determining what the require
ments are for mental programs, :"
MFR. Guttersen. who was mem
tai hospital architect for the
Public Health Service before 60
ling to APA. said that in present
construction of psychiatric IA
Icilities in sgeneral hospitals as
well as separate public and pri-
Ivate mental hospitals. the recog-
milton of the need for treatment
and recreational facilities has in
creased the required square foot
age by 20 to IS per cent.
Size Questioned
Gen. Lane questioned the 80
per cent increase in square foot
age Of the completed plans for
the Districts psychiatric build
ling compared with the original
estimates made in 1858. Hos
Ipital and construction officials
here have explained that the
original estimates were simply
based on 500 square feet per bed
without taking into considera-
Ition any provision for treatment.
lout-patient facilities or recrea-
ton.
Mr.. GutterSen emphasized
that psychiatric facilities require
more floor space than surgical
lor medical facilities because
mental patients are ambulatory.
Facilities not related to bed care
must be provided for them in
the nursing units as well as in
the treatment units, he said.
"In all the attempts I've made
Ito develop plans for psychiatric
units in general hospitals" he
said. II start with the chassis
of the standard surgical or med
|ical unit. The generally accepted
standards for such units Is Is
to 80 beds.
Using the same amount OF
floor area and structural sys-I
TEN. I have never been able to
get in more than 20 beds for a
psychiatric service because the
patients are ambulatory and day
rooms and similar facilities must
be provided"
Other Plans Cited
He said he had just completed
"a 300-bed intensive treatment
psychiatric unit in a State hos
pital where the square footagS
averages a little over 600 square
feet per bed. He said there were
rs beds per nursing unit in one.
two and four-bed rooms.
Gen. Lane also questioned why
the plans for the Districts psy-
chiatric facility showed no rooms
with more than four beds,
The Standards for PSYCHE
atric Hospitals and Clinics" pub
lished in revised form in 1854 by
the American Psychiatric ASso-
citation Mental Hospital Service
lists single. two-bed and four-bed
rooms as the recommended de-
sign for the wards.
Mr.. Guttersen explained that
the four bed maximum was based
on the fact that mental patients
are best handled in small groups. |
He also said that doctors can
make more accurate placement
of patients If they have several
types of rooms and grouping of
patients to choose from.
Flexibility Emphasized
The four-bed maximum was
planned here for the same fiexi-
bility. 1t was explained that the
population of the psychiatricI
wards is constantly changing. On
some occasions. these wards get
a large influx of disturbed wom-
en- patients. On other occasions,
they may be depressed men.
With smaller rooms, 1t was ex-I
planned, the patients can be
placed easily without overcrowd-
ing one ward and leaving an
other empty.
Most of the hospitals whose
plans are carried in PublicI
Health Service publications, theI
APA's Mental Hospitals" and
Record went
through the same planning pro-