Space Guidelines for Medical Respite Care Programs
The Space Guidelines for Medical Respite Care Programs establish a national, evidence-based guideline to inform the planning and design of medical respite facilities. These guidelines are based on best practices in medical, residential, and long-term care facility design, and were adapted to be applicable to the needs of medical respite programs and in alignment with the NIMRC Framework for Medical Respite Care.
These guidelines use the approach “form follows function” for programs to integrate their Model of Care, workflows, and Standards to inform the design, adjacencies, and attributes of the space to create trauma-informed and functional facilities.
The guidelines were developed in partnership with CannonDesign and are intended as a flexible planning tool that programs can scale and adapt to their own facility and community.
Questions? Contact us for technical assistance on the guidelines.
Recommendations for using this resource
- Align facility design with the MRC Model of Care: Use this resource as a directional planning tool to align physical space with industry best practices, established MRC guidelines, and standards that support a safe, functional, and therapeutic environment.
- Adapt the framework to your program’s unique constraints: Treat these guidelines as a flexible, adaptable tool rather than a rigid template. It is designed to prompt you to evaluate key features, workflows, and spatial adjacencies, allowing you to scale and customize the guidelines to fit your facility’s physical and operational constraints.
- Prioritize trauma-informed design and the client journey: Center your planning decisions around the client experience journey. Use the resource to understand how physical environments impact healing, ensuring your renovated or new facility incorporates design elements that foster dignity, safety, and physical comfort for clients.
Space and Facility Planning Guidelines for Medical Respite Care Programs
The complete guidelines — a directional planning tool for aligning your facility with the medical respite model of care, the Standards, and trauma-informed design.
Download the Guidelines →Webinar Series · Sept. 30 & Oct. 13Applying the Guidelines to Your Space
A two-part series on how to apply these guidelines to your space and community. Part 1 covers the introduction, client sleeping, bathroom, and communal spaces; Part 2 covers the remaining areas, including site and building support spaces. Recordings will be posted here after the series.
Register for the Webinars →Special thanks to CannonDesign for their partnership and development of this resource.
