An increasing number of health systems are working to co-locate behavioral healthcare services. Last month, Penn Medicine announced the launch of a new community mental health hub that brings psychiatric and substance use care together for West and Southwest Philadelphia residents. Now Mount Sinai Health System has announced plans to open a behavioral health center in Lower Manhattan that will become a comprehensive “one-stop shop” for mental healthcare, substance use treatment, and primary care.
Mount Sinai said the $140 million facility at 45 Rivington Street is believed to be the largest private investment in mental healthcare in New York State history.
In addition to inpatient care, it will provide intensive outpatient and crisis services, including a Partial Hospitalization Program, an Intensive Outpatient Program, and one of New York State’s first Intensive Crisis Residences.
The Intensive Crisis Residence is a short-term therapeutic residence in a home-like setting for people experiencing acute mental health crises that are not severe enough to require hospitalization. It can also serve as a step-down from an acute hospital stay to help patients transition more safely back into the community. At the new center, general outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment services are integrated with primary care services, providing seamless access and comprehensive care for our communities’ overall health needs.
In addition, the Mount Sinai-Behavioral Health Center will serve as a hub for innovation, seeking to expand and improve behavioral health services available in New York City, the health system said. By bringing these services under one roof and adding critical new programs, this center will offer a full continuum of care, an integrated process to coordinate care, and a seamless system to access other specialized behavioral health services across the Mount Sinai Health System.
“This new facility will address some of the critical gaps in behavioral health services that New Yorkers downtown currently face, giving them access to the care they need when and where they need it,” said Grant Mitchell, M.D., chair of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, in a statement. “By expanding the services offered at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, this new behavioral health center will ensure we continue to provide the excellent care our patients deserve.”
Mount Sinai said the center's transformation of the current system for behavioral health treatment goes hand in hand with basic and clinical research. The new center is part of Mount Sinai’s Department of Psychiatry, which had $59 million in grant funding in 2022, more than 40 labs, 130 research faculty members, and 15 major research centers. All patients of the center will have the opportunity to participate in research and clinical trials that contribute to the advancement of psychiatric knowledge and care.
The Mount Sinai-Behavioral Health Center is part of Mount Sinai’s larger effort to transform care downtown. To date, Mount Sinai has invested more than $1 billion in its downtown network that includes building a network of 20 outpatient and ambulatory care facilities below 34th Street.