Northwell’s Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson formally dedicated its recently acquired Outpatient Behavioral Health Services building that allows the hospital to transform how it provides mental health services at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Nov. 25.

The building, located across the street from the hospital at 100 Highlands Blvd., was purchased with public and private funding totaling $9.2 million including a grant from the NYS Department of Health. 

“Tonight, we choose hope. Tonight, we celebrate a victory,” Erin Dainer, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry for Mather Hospital, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This facility, born from the collective will of government, healthcare providers, and generous philanthropists, stands as proof that together, we can make a difference. Within these walls, lives will be transformed.”

The building houses Mather’s Adult and Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Programs, Chemical Dependency Program, Eating Disorders and Gambling Addiction programs, and a new Rapid Access Center allowing patients immediate access to assessments and referrals for behavorial health care. The Center is expected to be opened by the end of the year. 

As part of the acquisition, Mather also expanded its Adolescent Partial Hospitalization program by 10 slots and added a co-occurring disorders track. The hospital also added capacity for its outpatient Medication Assisted Treatment program. 

A recent series of community leader forums conducted by the hospital revealed a severe shortage of behavioral health services for both adolescents and adults was a top concern. 

“The statistics are stark, but they are not just numbers. They represent real people, our friends, family, and neighbors. Every year, more than one in five New Yorkers battle the invisible wounds of mental health disorders, and in any year one in ten face challenges so profound they impact their ability to work, to love, to simply live,” said Dr. Dainer. “The need is monumental and has only been made worse by the opioid epidemic and recent pandemic.”

“There is no doubt we have a mental health and substance abuse crisis in this country,” said Denise Driscoll, NP, Assistant Vice President for Behavioral Health at Mather Hospital, noting that 53 million Americans are living with mental illness. “Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-14 and the 12th leading cause of death overall in the U.S, and  2.5 million Americans are diagnosed with an opioid use disorder. According to the CDC, annual drug overdose deaths have eclipsed the peak of yearly deaths from car crashes, gun violence or any one year of the AIDS epidemic.”

Driscoll said that there is only one provider available for every 350 individuals looking for services, and 28% of adults experiencing mental health symptoms reported they were not able to access or navigate their way to the treatment they so desperately needed. 

“Let 100 Highlands be a permanent symbol to our community that no one gets left behind and a beacon of hope to those living with mental illness and substance abuse that recovery and a life well lived is possible,” she said.