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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BROOKLYN PSYCHIATRIC CENTERS LAUNCHES
PRIMARY CARE/BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTEGRATION PROGRAM

BROOKLYN, NY—September 21, 2007—Dr. Pamela Straker, president and CEO of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, today announced the launch of a Primary Care/Behavioral Health Integration Initiative, which will help the agency’s clients improve their physical health, as well as their mental health. The New York City Council provided seed money for the program.

“We are very excited about introducing this program because we find that there is a strong link between a person’s mental health and physical health” Dr. Straker said. “As part of our holistic approach to mental health, we want to make sure that our clients receive regular physicals from their primary care physicians and adopt healthy lifestyles so that they can live longer, more productive, and more fulfilling lives. Another benefit is the program broadens training opportunities for nurses in New York City while expanding clients’ contacts with healthcare professionals.”

Nine registered nurses (RNs) who are earning bachelor’s degrees from St. Francis College’s School of Nursing will staff the program, working with new clients and current clients who already have a medical diagnosis. The program will be introduced initially at Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ three downtown clinic sites, and expand to other clinics in the future.

Dr. Straker thanked New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Brooklyn members Councilman Erik Martin Dilan and Councilman Lewis A. Fidler for their leadership in spearheading the effort in the City Council to gain funding for the initiative. She also thanked Dr. Frank Macchiarola, president of St. Francis College, Susan Saladino, chair of the Department of Nursing at St. Francis College, and the participating St. Francis College nursing students. Additionally, she thanked members of her staff, Dr. Robert Freeman and Marcia Titus-Prescott, RNC, for creating and coordinating the program, and Dr. Steven Demby for developing the survey and evaluation design for the program.

Dr. Macchiarola said he is pleased that the St. Francis College students will be serving the clients of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers because the college’s special mission is to serve the poor just as St. Francis of Assisi did. “These are two historic organizations in Brooklyn,” he said. “Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers was a pioneer 100 years ago in treating mental illness and dealing with the poor and people who had no support elsewhere. St. Francis College started 150 years ago. We’ve served the community together.”

A major goal of the program is to ensure that clients receive physical exams from a primary care physician. Currently many clients do not have a primary care physician and rely on emergency rooms to meet their health care needs.

“To be able to move into the area of psychiatric mental health represents an area of growth for our program,” Ms. Saladino said. “We’ve been mainly associated with local hospitals, but this is the first time we’ve been involved with a group that targets the psychiatric population. We’re going to be focusing on both the mind and the body.”

The nurses, who currently work in hospitals throughout Brooklyn, will follow-up with clients who need to make appointments with specialists, take appropriate medical tests, or require medication. Clients will be asked to sign a release allowing the nurses and clinicians to share information with medical doctors so that the medical care is better coordinated.

“The benefits of this program will include improved treatment for the clients; better integration of mental health and primary care services delivered to patients; and a reduced need for emergency room visits,” said Dr. Freeman, medical director and director of psychiatry for Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, who is overseeing the program.

In addition, Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ clinicians will identify clients who would benefit from workshops presented by the nurses on the topics of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and smoking cessation. The agency’s clinicians will include goals to improve physical health in the clients’ treatment plans, which are revised every three months.

“We find that there is a high incidence of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity in the communities we serve, and we believe that by educating our clients on diet and exercise, we can reduce these dangerous, life-threatening conditions,” said Ms. Titus-Prescott, who is Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ director of Behavioral and Primary Health Care Services.

Dr. Demby continued, "We were fortunate in the timing of our Primary Care/Behavioral Health Integration Initiative given the recently developed push for such integration by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. As we move forward, we will be employing Quality Impact methods to determine the effectiveness of this program and ensure that we’re delivering the best treatment possible to our clients."

Each year, thousands of children, adults, seniors and their families receive the help they need during more than 60,000 visits to Brooklyn Psychiatric Center’s five community-based clinics in Williamsburg-Greenpoint, Bushwick, Canarsie, Flatbush-Sheepshead Bay, and downtown, on-site programs in the public schools, an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment program, a prevention program serving at-risk children and their families, and senior programs.

Launching Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ Primary Care/Behavioral Health Integration Initiative are, left to right: Dr. Pamela Straker, president and CEO of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, Dr. Frank Macchiarola, president of St. Francis College, Susan Saladino, chair of the Department of Nursing at St. Francis College, and Marcia Titus-Prescott, RNC, director of Behavioral and Primary Health Care Services for Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers.

 

Dr. Pamela Straker, president and CEO of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, Marcia Titus-Prescott, RNC, director of Behavioral and Primary Health Care Services for Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, Dr. Frank Macchiarola, president of St. Francis College, and Susan Saladino, chair of the Department of Nursing at St. Francis College, with St. Francis College students (in blue lab coats) who will be participating in Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ Primary Care/Behavioral Health Integration Initiative.