NUMC opens mental health clinic for children

Nassau University Medical Center has opened a new mental health clinic aimed at easing the wait for children, teens and their families seeking treatment for emotional and behavioral disorders.

The Child, Adolescent and Family Outpatient Center will see patients from ages 4 to 21 and their families dealing with ADHD, depression, anger, trauma, phobia and other psychiatric problems.

"I've heard of many anecdotes of families waiting weeks and months to see a mental health professional," said Dr. Nyapati Rao, chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavior sciences at Nassau University Medical Center.

The outpatient center will help serve those who cannot afford to see private-practicing psychiatrists, he said.

Rao spoke at a hospital news event Tuesday at which the opening of the new clinic was announced to about two dozen doctors, social workers, hospital administrators and local mental health officials. State commissioner of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services Arlene Gonzalez-Sachez also attended.

Schools, social service agencies, the medical center and community health centers would refer patients to the new outpatient mental health center, which is located next to the main hospital in East Meadow.

A six-year, $7.8-million federal grant will help fund the center with the hope that it will become self-sufficient, officials said. The staff will include two social workers, a psychologist and an administrative clerk. The clinic partners with Nassau County and Families Together, Inc., a parent-governed children's mental health group.

The outpatient center expects about 1,000 patient visits in its first year, said Sally Ann Graham, the clinic's director.

Placing children in outpatient therapy is part of a growing trend that focuses on keeping them in the community and out of institutions, said Dr. James R. Dolan, acting commissioner of mental health, chemical dependency and developmental disabilities services for Nassau County.

One in 10 children and adolescents nationally suffer from emotional or behavioral disorder severe enough to cause some impairment, Dolan said. "Only 20 percent of those needing specialty mental health care are getting it," he said.