Department Of Veterans Affairs
VA Space Planning Criteria (Chapter 260)
Washington, DC 20420
December 2006
C. These criteria are subject to modification relative to development in the equipment,
medical practice, vendor requirements, and subsequent planning and design. The
selection of the size and type of Mental Health Clinic equipment is determined by
VACO and upon Veterans Health Administration (VHA) anticipated medical needs.
D. Room capacity calculation per year should be based on:
Operating days per year x Hours of operation per day
= Number of
Minutes per clinic stop / 60 minutes
annual clinic stops
1. The general planning model for VA facilities assumes 250 Operating Days per
Year and 8 Hours of Operation per Day. Room capacity will fluctuate as hours of
operation are modified, i.e., additional capacity may be generated by extending
the daily hours of operation within the same physical setting.
2. Basic Room Efficiency Factor selected for Psychology Service is 85%.
Example: For a Psychology Service clinic stop that averages 40 minutes:
250 operating days per year x 8 hours of operation per day
= 3,000 annual
40 minutes per clinic stop / 60 minutes
clinic stops
A maximum capacity of 3,000 clinic stops per year, assuming 100% utilization.
However, 100% utilization is not realistic. We will apply an 85% Efficiency Factor
as a design standard for Psychology Service.
3,030 x 85% = 2,550 annual clinic stops.
TABLE 1: WORKLOAD PARAMETER CALCULATION
AVERAGE
ANNUAL
MINIMUM
LENGTH OF
CLINIC STOPS
WORKLOAD TO
CLINIC
CLINIC STOP
UTILIZATION
PER ROOM
GENERATE ONE
STOP
(minutes)
RATE
(rounded)
ROOM
Exam
40
85%
2,550
765
Room
3. The number of annual clinic stops per room will be used as a criteria parameter to
calculate the number of exam rooms in the Space Criteria section of this
document. The minimum workload to generate one room is 30% of the calculated
annual clinic stops per room.
4
PROGRAM DATA REQUIRED (Input Data Questions)
A. Mission:
1 Is a Mental Health Clinic authorized? (M)
2 Is a Biofeedback Laboratory authorized? (M)
Mental Health Clinic (Chapter 260): Page 260-4 of 9
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