Trempealeau County Health Care Center

The Trempealeau County Health Care Center is one of only three licensed Institutes for Mental Diseases, serving nearly 70 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. This behavioral health facility sets a standard in evidence-based design, developed through a collaborative and interdisciplinary process. From the start, clinical leadership worked alongside architects, administrators, and caregivers to create a therapeutic, person-centered environment that prioritizes patient safety, dignity, and autonomy.

Research-driven strategies were integrated into every planning and design stage, informed by site visits, caregiver observations, and extensive input from various stakeholders, including staff, patients, families, regulators, and local officials. The facility’s layout features abundant natural light, passive observation areas, neighborhood-style units, and decentralized staff zones to reduce stress, improve workflows, and promote independent functioning among patients. Staff engagement went beyond workshops; it included real-time walkthroughs during construction and post-occupancy evaluations, ensuring the design met operational needs.

The project tracked evidence-based goals such as improving staff satisfaction, minimizing patient agitation, and supporting functional flexibility through environmental metrics, user feedback, and comparative data from the previous facility. Since its opening, the healthcare center has served as a teaching tool across the industry, with lessons shared nationally and internationally, and findings published as post-occupancy data is collected.

This is more than a facility; it is a benchmark for behavioral health environments, offering safe, restorative spaces rooted in experience, guided by research, and attuned to the communities they serve.