PORT JEFFERSON – Northwell’s Mather Hospital formally dedicated its recently acquired Outpatient Behavioral Health Services building that allows the hospital to transform how it provides mental health services, expanding programs and introducing a new Rapid Access Center. 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.
About Mather Hospital
Mather Hospital is an accredited 248-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of high-quality health care services to Suffolk County residents, showing compassion, respect and treating each patient in the manner we would wish for our loved ones. Mather has twice earned the highest five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for outcomes, patient experience and process and has the prestigious Magnet® recognition three times from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. The hospital was rated high performing by U.S. News & World Report 2024-2025 Best Hospitals rankings in gastroenterology & GI surgery; geriatrics; neurology & neurosurgery; orthopedics; pulmonology & lung surgery; COPD; heart failure; hip fracture; kidney failure; leukemia, lymphoma & myeloma; and pneumonia. Mather also was named one of America’s 250 best hospitals for 2023 and 2024 by Healthgrades and received the Healthgrades 2024 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ for the fourth consecutive year, as well as its 20th top A grade in the spring 2024 ratings for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group. Our Graduate Medical Education program prepares physicians for future careers through Internal Medicine, Transitional Year, Diagnostic Radiology, Interventional Radiology, and Psychiatry residency programs and gastroenterology and hematology/oncology fellowships. For information about Mather Hospital, visit matherhospital.org or follow us @MatherHospital on Facebook.
About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, about 900 outpatient facilities and more than 12,000 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 87,000 employees – 18,900 nurses and 4,900 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.