Expand Mental Health Care in NYC
The Allen Psych unit provides a vital service to Washington Heights, Inwood, and the Bronx. NewYork-Presbyterian wants to close Allen Psych to generate more profits from its spine surgery center. Mental healthcare is more important than ever, and you can help us protect this community resource.
Allen Psych is located at the top of Manhattan, part of New York-Presbyterian’s Allen Hospital. Half of Allen Psych’s patients come from Inwood or Washington Heights, with many of them uninsured or on Medicaid. Allen Psych often treats patients with dual diagnoses: severe mental illness as well as substance use disorders.
Throughout New York City, psychiatric units are at maximum capacity. Patients sometimes have to wait for days in the emergency room before a psychiatric bed is available. New York City is shedding psychiatric units, down 15% from 2014 to 2018. Allen Psych offers important psychiatric services in short supply.
NewYork-Presbyterian wants to close Allen Psych to make room for its more lucrative spine center. NYP suggests sending patients with mental illness to its hospital in Westchester, a 90 minute ride from Inwood by train or bus. NYP doesn’t plan to add any new psych beds, not even in Westchester, yet it does plan to open four new operating rooms in the spine center, which treats many patients who live far from our community.
The Allen should remain a community hospital that serves our most vulnerable neighbors, not New York Presbyterian’s financial interests. Nobody should go to Rikers, the largest provider of mental health services in New York city, because they haven’t gotten treatment for their mental illness.
New York-Presbyterian plans to close the Allen Hospital’s psychiatric unit and replace it with a more lucrative spine center. On Thursday, July 11th, join your neighbors and elected officials for a rally and press conference about saving Allen Psych and putting people over profit! New York’s largest provider of psychiatric care is Rikers Island, and we believe that a better world is possible.
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This morning, March 19, 2020, the New York State Nurses’ Association (NYSNA) was put on notice by New York-Presbyterian (NYP) of its intent to transfer psychiatric care entirely from the Allen Hospital to NYP Gracie Square in order to convert the unit for the care of COVID-19 patients. While we believe, along with the nurses […]
On Thursday, July 11th, the community came together outside of the Allen Hospital to call on New York-Presbyterian to maintain the Allen Psych unit. Check out photos of the event below. Want to get involved? Email us at saveallenpsych@gmail.com.
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