As demand for mental health care continues to grow, Northwell’s Lenox Hill Hospital is opening a new community-based outpatient center on the Upper East Side.
The new facility will create a larger, more modern home for Lenox Hill’s Outpatient Center for Mental Health, expanding access to psychiatry, psychotherapy, group therapy and telehealth in a setting designed specifically for behavioral health care. The space will be thoughtfully designed to put patients first — prioritizing comfort, privacy and a more calming, supportive atmosphere. It’s a meaningful shift from traditional clinical environments with the goal of enhancing the overall experience.
“This is about access and quality,” said David M. Roane, MD, chair of psychiatry at Lenox Hill Hospital. “Regardless of your insurance, where you’re coming from, your age or diagnosis, more New Yorkers will have access to mental health care and an even better patient experience.”
The new center grew in part out of conversations with community members and local leaders during Lenox Hill Hospital’s redevelopment planning, when the need for more mental health services emerged as a clear priority.
In particular, then-Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said: “The need for this type of care is severe in the United States, with reports that 55 percent of adults experiencing mental illness do not get treatment. For children, the numbers are even more stark: Twenty percent of children are reported to have a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder, and 60 percent of youth with major depression receive no mental health treatment.”
The facility reflects those insights, bringing dedicated outpatient behavioral health care for New Yorkers of all demographics into a more accessible setting.
The new center is also part of a broader Northwell effort to expand behavioral health care beyond traditional hospital settings and into the communities where patients live.
Recently, through the ‘Healthy Minds, Healthy Harlem’ program, Lenox Hill clinicians have brought bilingual therapy and medication management directly to NYCHA residents in East Harlem, reducing barriers to care and connecting patients with support earlier.
According to Dr. Roane, when care is accessible and consistent, people are more likely to seek it out and stick with it.
“Stigma is often described as the biggest barrier to mental health treatment, but access is a major barrier too,” he said. “When people know care is there for them, and that they can actually get it, they are much more likely to reach out.”
Approximately half of Lenox Hill’s behavioral health patients are on Medicare and Medicaid. By expanding outpatient access, the new facility will allow Northwell to reach patients earlier and more consistently, helping reduce the need for more intensive interventions down the line.
