Ellis Medicine next week is opening a 4,000-square-foot mental health clinic for children and adolescents, which includes space for future primary care services. The center, which opened with a mental health clinic for adults on the other side of the building in 2017, also recently added integrated physical health services for the patients there.
These additions fulfill the original vision for the building — outpatient mental health and primary care under one roof.
“The stigma (of mental health) prevents them from getting care. Unfortunately, a lot of times, they just have increased medical needs in relation to mental health. Having it all in one place makes them willing and open to getting that care,” said Christina Moran, practice administrator for outpatient mental health services at Ellis.
Since integrated care was opened on the adult side, providers are seeing patients who have not had proper medical care in decades, she said.
Ellis Medicine invested $1.5 million to open the space at 1023 State Street as a clinic for children and adolescents, replacing a 2,600-square-foot facility on McClellan Street. This will allow the hospital to double its capacity from 350 patients to 700, filling a mental health need that’s been exacerbated by the pandemic and led many patients to turn to emergency rooms for help.
"There has always been a big need for child and adolescent mental health services in this region and throughout New York state,” said Lin Murray, administrative director for mental health services. “Currently, there have been reports from hospitals all through the Capital Region and New York state with increased need for child and adolescent mental health services, and Covid did highlight it.”
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