VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System
Reno, NV

To meet the need of local hospice housing for veterans, we teamed with the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System to develop a “Small House” facility for a twelve-bed residential housing model. This single floor residential facility is located across the street from the VA campus in Reno Nevada. The facility takes advantage of ease of access to the complete array of services that are provided by the hospital, as well as the human scale of the surrounding neighborhood. The Reno Community Living Center is a five-star rated program and as such has realized an increase in demand from the State of Nevada as well as from many of the surrounding states. The design of the building, from the healing garden design to patient-centered layout, is LEED silver. The team took advantage of existing utility services from the main VA campus by creating a tunnel connection under the street. This reduced on-site equipment and allowed the new building to maximize space for resident and therapy quarters. The result is a palliative care experience that aligns people, place and services to help veterans enjoy the remainder of their lives.