6.29.22 - Dutchess County and Westchester Medical Center partner on new $3 million behavioral health center
' Patients will receive inpatient behavioral care as well as wraparound services such as transitional care
Dutchess County executives and the Westchester Medical Center Health Network are partnering to build a new $3 million Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, representatives announced on Monday.
The private-public partnership will close the inpatient behavioral health care gap Westchester Medical Center has been experiencing, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said, and build upon the county and the center’s existing partnered outpatient services– mobile intervention teams and 24/7 crisis intervention services.
“This is a blueprint for how public-private partnerships can address community needs,” said Josh Ratner, Westchester Medical Center’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer.
Westchester Medical Center is licensed for 40 behavioral health beds at MidHudson Regional. It had added 15 temporary beds, and Dutchess County’s $3 million investment will turn those 15 beds into permanent beds and add five more for a total of 60 permanent spots for behavioral health patients. The center will offer inpatient treatment as well as “wraparound services,” such as emergency care, transitional care and art therapy programs.
The initiative aims to be a comprehensive program centered on patients’ needs, Ratner said, that creates “soft handoffs” between phases of care.
The behavioral health center will include community spaces and nursing stations to ensure staff and patient safety. County staff will be embedded in the center to help discharged patients access other behavioral health services throughout the county.
While Ratner acknowledged that while the demand for mental health services will almost always outpace hospitals’ supply, he said the behavioral health center would “make a dent” in demand.
Westchester Medical Center announced last month that it would add 20 inpatient mental health beds to the expanded HealthAlliance Hospital Kingston, bringing the total number in Dutchess and Ulster counties to 80.
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network is the largest provider of mental health services in the Hudson Valley, with 205 inpatient beds and 1,700 total beds. It operates nine hospitals on seven campuses and employs more than 13,000. '
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