Hospital leader shares plans for youth mental health centers

By NEAL RENTZ

The Lewisboro Town Board was told by the head of Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco on March 10 that the facility will open a center to provide mental health assistance for youths. The hospital is also seeking to become a trauma center.

Supervisor Tony Gonçalves noted at this week’s meeting that as a member of the President’s Council he has met occasionally with Northern Westchester Hospital President and CEO Derek Anderson.

“It’s amazing some of the initiatives and programs that they have,” Gonçalves said.

The President’s Council consists of local leaders including supervisors and county legislators, he said.

Anderson, who is a Lewisboro resident, said, “The supervisor’s incredibly active with the hospital,” which is part of the Northwell Health system.

“I think it’s important that we come out and provide you with what’s been happening and what’s on the horizon,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who has headed the hospital for about six years, said he wanted to speak about two important initiatives. The first was the extensive program the hospital has been developing over the past 18 months, working with eight local school districts to create a program to support area youth, he said.

One of the many current crises is children and teens who do not have good access to mental health services, Andersen said. “We see these kids end up in our emergency department,” he said.  Youths with mental health difficulties do not always need in-patient care, he said. “They simply need support with anxiety, depression and suicidality.”

New center to open soon

A center will open in a location next to Ben & Jerry’s on East Main Street, Mount Kisco, Anderson said. The new facility, which is near the hospital, will provide services to youth with or without insurance, he said.

“It’s like an urgent care center for kids with mental health issues,” Anderson said.

The hospital is working with superintendents from local school districts including the Katonah-Lewisboro district, Anderson said. Services at the center will be accessed through BOCES, working with Northwell Health. “It adds a centralized location,” he said. The center will aim to accept students referred to by schools on the same day, he noted.

The clinical portion of the new center will open in April or May and the schools-based portion will begin with the start of the new academic year in September, Anderson noted.

Councilwoman Mary Shah said she has seen plans for the new center. Youths who receive services from the center will not feel they are going to an institution, she said.

“It’s something that’s been thoughtfully put together,” Shah said, adding that the center will be able to provide support meetings for parents whose children are receiving the center’s services.

(The Recorder has been covering Northwell’s plans in an ongoing series about the youth mental health crisis. The most recent article in the series in the March 7 issue featured an interview with Dr. Vera Feuer, medical director of child and adolescent psychiatry, who is leading Northwell’s initiative on youth mental health. View the series online at www.therecorder.org/youthmentalhealth.)

The second initiative Anderson discussed was the hospital’s effort to become a trauma center. “There is only one trauma center serving all of Westchester and Putnam Counties, serving 1.2 million people,” he said.

In neighboring Fairfield County, which has a population density similar to Westchester and Putnam, there are 11 trauma centers, Anderson noted.

“Right now, if there’s an emergency in our town here in Lewisboro, it could go down to Stamford, they could go to Danbury Hospital. It’s not coordinated,” he said.

Encouraging residents to become volunteer emergency service providers is continuing to be a challenge, Anderson said. A round trip for emergency responders to a trauma center could be two to three hours, not only taking volunteers’ time, but taking an ambulance out of service. A trauma center at his hospital would get volunteers back to their communities as quickly as possible, he said.

“We’re actively seeking trauma designation from the regional and state regulators,” Anderson said. “This simply provides high quality care close to home.’

THRIVE update

Also at the meeting, the town board received an update from representatives of THRIVE Bedford, Lewisboro and Pound Ridge.

“It is a coalition to work on drug use prevention and to promote mental wellness,” Shah said. The program helps middle and high school students, she said.

Shah is Lewisboro’s town board liaison to the South Salem-based THRIVE.

Dr. Armond Collins, a psychiatrist who is currently Lewisboro’s only THRIVE steering committee member, introduced the organization’s new coalition coordinator Isabella Pectol. “Isabella will be integral in supporting THRIVE and fostering collaboration throughout our communities,” Collins said. “Isabella comes to us with a strong background in public health and community involvement.”

Pectol said THRIVE “is a driving force for combating today’s substance abuse and mental health challenges by fostering healthy lifestyles through education, resources and strategies.”

Pectol said she and Bedford resident Sally Corbett-Turco, chair of the THRIVE steering committee, have attended meetings and seminars on such subjects as teen alcohol abuse. Corbett-Turco recently attended the Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America’s three-day conference, which featured discussions on drug and alcohol abuse, as well as coalition building.

Pectol said she also attends the 10 monthly coalition meetings which include discussions of what coalitions are doing countywide.

Pectol said her organization has received federal Drug-Free Community Grant money.

“This funding supports organizations like ours in creating and implementing strategies that foster healthier communities by providing resources for education, prevention, and advocacy,” she said. “Through this grant we are actively working to raise awareness, provide education and involve youth in conversations about substance abuse prevention.”

Another THRIVE effort is to bring speakers to local schools, Pectol said. Another of the organization’s programs is the youth ambassadorship program “to empower students to take an active role in promoting healthy lifestyles with their peers,” she said.

For more information, visit thrive-alliance.net.