New York City-based NYC Health + Hospitals has launched a new intervention team to support adults transitioning out of psychiatric hospitalization or emergency care.
The five-year, $32.2 million initiative is funded by the New York State Office of Mental Health and will serve patients with multiple psychiatric hospitalizations or emergency visits within the past year, according to a Dec. 9 news release shared with Becker’s. The teams — composed of nurses, social workers, care managers, mental health professionals and peer specialists — will offer services for up to nine months after discharge.
Support includes escorting patients home, coordinating community-based follow-up care and helping secure public benefits, according to the news release. The teams will operate at system locations at Bellevue in the Manhattan borough, Jacobi in the Bronx, Kings County in Brooklyn, Metropolitan in East Harlem and the Queens Hospital Center. They are expected to serve up to 650 patients annually.
The team will complement the system’s Peer Bridge program, which connects patients discharged from comprehensive psychiatric emergency programs with certified peer counselors. These counselors assist patients in accessing outpatient care, transportation and local resources.
