Binghamton General Hospital's psychiatric emergency unit will move to its own second-floor space, with a private entrance, a larger waiting area and separate areas for voluntary and involuntary patients.
The Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program serves more than 5,500 children and adults a year from an eight-county region. Its relocation will triple the unit's space, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's announcement.
The planned 14,400-square-foot unit will have 12 extended-observation beds. It will replace the program's current location within the emergency department, where it lacks a large waiting area.
A separate setting for crisis care
The psychiatric program, known as CPEP, is among 21 such programs and three satellites operating across New York. They treat people experiencing behavioral health crises, including those with mental health disorders, substance use disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and medical conditions.
Office of Mental Health Commissioner Ann Sullivan described CPEPs as a primary entry point into the mental health system. She said the larger Binghamton program is intended to improve safety, increase capacity and improve patients' experience.
Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said a separate entrance and waiting area would provide a more appropriate setting for triage and treatment. The project will separate psychiatric emergency care from the hospital's general emergency department.
Thirty private emergency beds planned
United Health Services will also build a new 27,650-square-foot emergency department with 30 beds in private rooms and a larger waiting area. The layout includes two resuscitation bays and flexible space for behavioral health evaluation and treatment.
Together, the emergency and psychiatric projects have been awarded $26 million in state capital funding. That total includes $25 million for the new emergency department and $1 million previously awarded by the Office of Mental Health to improve the psychiatric program's treatment environment and capacity.
State Health Commissioner James McDonald said the investment would expand access to emergency and behavioral health care in the Southern Tier.
UHS President and CEO John Carrigg said the funding will help the hospital create an emergency and behavioral health environment focused on safety for patients and employees.
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