New behavioral health facility is a milestone in local care

Northwell Behavioral Health at Mount Kisco  is the area's first standalone outpatient mental health clinic for children and adolescents. A playroom-style waiting area decorated with local children’s artwork. The new facility also features bi-lingual therapists, a sensory area for young children and a conference room. PHOTOS COURTESY OF NORTHWELL HEALTH

This article is part of The Recorder’s ongoing series examining the child and adolescent mental health crisis through the perspectives of parents, teens, educators and mental health professionals.

By MELISSA WHITWORTH

In a milestone for the community, the first standalone outpatient mental health clinic for children and adolescents has opened.

Northwell Behavioral Health at Mount Kisco operates in two parts. One will provide outpatient behavioral care and ongoing treatment to any youth, meeting what stakeholders say is a dire lack of access to mental health care in the area.

The second part will focus on school district partnerships and Northwell’s latest pediatric behavioral health center. 

The center provides group and individual therapy appointments, medication management, and same-day crises support. The vast majority of children who experience a mental health crisis do not need the emergency room, said Dr. Vera Feuer, medical director, child and adolescent psychiatry, Northwell Health. 

Feuer is the brains behind the center — this will be her fifth location, having previously opened four in Long Island. The center also offers education and support for parents. The first appointments available to patients began on June 30, with the official ribbon-cutting ceremony planned in September.

The Recorder has been following the location’s inception, from the initial idea to bring more mental health services to our community, to the light and airy brick-and-mortar space that now exists at 657 East Main St., Mount Kisco.

“This is a non-stigmatizing space,” Feuer said. “It is supposed to be a lovely space you can come in; it’s not in the basement. A lot of mental health facilities everywhere find themselves in the basement. That is very commonplace.”

Crucially, the location also spends half of its resources and support on pairing with local school districts. Each district signs on to partner with Northwell through BOCES. The final list of signed districts has yet to be announced as budget allocations are being finalized with the start of school districts’ new fiscal year on July 1. There has been wide support from local school superintendents and school boards. Robert Glass, superintendent of Bedford Central School District previously told The Recorder of the initiative: “I think it’s pretty close to a win-win-win all around. If we can have this kind of service, it would be a big benefit to the entire community.”

The School Mental Health Partnership part of the center operates similarly to an urgent care, but practitioners ask that parents and school staff call ahead and schedule appointments. They will not turn away walk-ins, however.

Starting in the upcoming school year, districts and Northwell will work closely with educators to engage families and refer students in need, with parental consent. This includes professional support for school staff and case consultation. Families can also self-refer into the program.

There was a 60 percent decrease in ER visits for partnering districts in one Long Island location where school collaboration has now grown to include 334 schools, 54 districts and serves 220,000 students. 

The center has hired two physicians (board certified child and adolescent psychiatrists), one clinical supervisor, two administrative support staff, three clinical professionals (licensed mental health counselors and licensed clinical social workers) and one care management coordinator.

The new site in Mount Kisco cost $1 million to renovate and has a broader fundraising goal of $7 million, of which over $6 million has already been raised, to allow for expansion of services and the development of an intensive outpatient program for patients. “This community really rallied,” said Feuer of the fundraising efforts.

Feuer has also engaged bilingual therapists. “We have multiple bilingual clinicians, Spanish-speaking doctors, Spanish-speaking therapists, and a Spanish-speaking psychiatrist. That’s a miracle hire,” she said. “I’m very excited about the team.”

The facility houses eight individual therapy offices, calm murals of blue mountains, a playroom-style waiting area decorated with local children’s artwork, a sensory area for small children and a big group conference room.

“This is really unique,” said Feuer. “We have never had a group space that lends itself to parenting programming in addition to the clinical practice. This is just as important as clinical care,” she stressed, because it is about educating parents and providing the means to prevention. “And the idea is you want it to be private, but now the stigma is changing. The world is changing. So we’re very proud of this space.”

The practice also is going to be unique, in that it will take any child and any insurance, including Medicaid, said Feuer. Billing works on a sliding scale or means-based system for anyone who needs financial support. “That is because of the funding and community fundraising, so we will be able to really provide care to the entire community, which is also unique.”

“Our hope is that once this is up and running we will further understand the needs of the community, and try to figure out what the best fit will be for this community specifically,” she said.