One in five children in the US experience a mental health disorder, which is compounded by a lack of psychiatric beds, residential care facilities, and lower-than-average funding. In addition, California is facing a mental health services gap—with fewer than 1,050 child psychiatrists to serve more than 9 million children and teens. In addition, 44 of California’s 58 counties—including Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz—have no child and adolescent psychiatric beds, according to the California Hospital Association.

Distressingly, much of the treatment takes place in prison-like facilities with padded walls, windowless rooms, and fences. Flipping this notion on its head, Ohana serves as a catalyst for the future. Sponsored by a gift from Warren Buffett’s sister, Roberta (Bertie) Bialek Elliott, a majority of the funding goes toward community care rather than the building itself.

Designed to heal rather than isolate, the Ohana Campus creates a welcoming experience for children, teens and caregivers. Immersed in nature, the serpentine-shaped building provides a new model of treatment for youth, intertwining care and environment as one. Ohana, which means “family” in Hawaiian, brings mental wellness to the forefront, offering a community-centered and restorative experience grounded in inclusion and hope. Mindful of resources, it is also the largest healthcare facility in the US to use mass timber and also features prefabricated components and simplified building elements, such as glass, zinc and stone. Providing messages of hope and resilience, Ohana also features a community arts program with over 160 artists represented, including commissioned works by visual artists and poets.

Ohana unites neuroscience research from University of Washington Professor and NBBJ Fellow Dr. John Medina to create a new type of healthcare environment for Montage Health and the surrounding region. Through its design, Ohana:

• Connects with nature. As connecting with nature is proven to support wellbeing, Ohana is terraced into its hillside landscape, providing not just restorative views via floor-to-ceiling windows, but seamless indoor-outdoor connections. Fresh air, abundant daylight and green plants support healing and wellness, while calming materials like cross-laminated timber, comfort and uplift. In fact, 94% of its spaces provide direct views to the outdoors, incredibly rare for a healthcare facility.

• Provides staff respite. With an annual average turnover rate of more than 40%, behavioral health caregivers frequently experience high stress. The project’s daylight-filled staff terraces and double-height amenity spaces overlooking the site’s majestic hills—are designed to lower stress and as a result, staff burnout.

• Encourages movement. As movement is a key tenet to improve executive function, exercise is essential to Ohana’s mission. A gym at its heart overlooks the site, while outdoor paths and the building’s curved shape encourages people to move.