AIHFS Health & Wellness Center

American Indian Health & Family Services (AIHFS) provides primary care, behavioral health and substance abuse treatment services in addition to numerous wellness programs for thousands of Native Americans throughout Southeast Michigan. AIHFS retained Seven Generations Architecture + Engineering (7GAE), The Steelhead Engineering Company, and WBK Engineering to provide architectural and engineering design services for a new 30,000-square-foot healthcare facility near downtown Detroit.

AIHFS is currently operating out of a former church, donated by the Archdiocese of Detroit, that was converted into a healthcare facility at the time but the space has become limited and inefficient for providing healthcare services today.

AIHFS intends to expand their existing healthcare services due to growing demand as well as provide new services. The new facility will help achieve both goals by creating better efficiencies and improved patient-focused healthcare delivery.

Once completed, the facility will provide primary care, imaging, pharmacy, dental suite, behavioral health services, health education, wellness services such as acupuncture and massages, administrative offices, and an exercise room. The facility will also include a commercial kitchen and potentially a café.

The five-acre vacant site identified for the new facility is long and linear with neighborhoods on all sides, presenting the team with the challenge of designing a facility within a unique urban site and neighborhood, while making the traffic flow, parking, and entrances and exits efficient.

The new facility will achieve LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.