NYC to Invest $8M in ‘Substance Use’ Clinic for Pregnant and Postpartum Women
NEW YORK — The city of New York announced Tuesday that it is investing $8 million in a new health and substance use disorder clinic specifically to provide care to pregnant and postpartum women and their families.
Mayor Eric Adams and officials from NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest provider of behavioral health care in the city, said the facility will offer pregnant and parenting individuals who are dependent on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs a safe and supportive place to access prenatal and postnatal care, addiction medicine and behavioral health care.
Among other things, the officials said, the 6,500-square-foot facility, which will be located at the Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx, will support healthy birth outcomes, reduce the likelihood and impact of postpartum relapse and address the needs of older children living in these families.
In doing so, they said, the clinic will also advance the city’s goal of reducing Black maternal mortality by 10% and reduce opioid deaths by 25% by 2030.
“This is a critical moment for women’s health in New York City and across the country,” Adams said. “Addiction and substance use disorder doesn’t discriminate, and overdoses are a leading cause of deaths in pregnant and postpartum women in New York City, affecting not only the new parent, but also their family and loved ones.
“Our administration has taken action to boost birth equity and support new families — expanding the doula program citywide, signing a package of bills to strengthen maternal health,” he continued.
“Today’s announcement of the Family Substance Use Disorder clinic coming to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln is a continuation of that critical work,” he said.
Dr. Machelle Allen, senior vice president and chief medical official of NYC Health + Hospitals, noted that pregnancy is a time when motivation for behavior change is high.
“It is our aim to leverage this personal motivation, coupled with peer support, professional guidance, and whole family engagement, to achieve a clean and sober intact family unit within which the child and his or her siblings thrive,” Allen said.
NYC Health + Hospitals provides almost 60% of behavioral health services citywide, serving over 75,000 patients annually across emergency, inpatient and outpatient care.
It offers a spectrum of services that treat substance use disorders, including several outpatient substance use clinics, four opioid treatment programs, buprenorphine treatment in person or via a telehealth visit through Virtual ExpressCare, and treatment for withdrawal from alcohol and opioid use at five of its substance use clinics on a walk-in basis.
The new investment is being funded through “Women Forward NYC: An Action Plan for Gender Equity,” a $43 million initiative of the Adams administration to make New York “the most woman-forward city in the country.”
The Bronx is the borough with the highest rate of opioid overdose death in New York City.
In addition to substance use support, patients will also be able to access connections to community-based organizations for other critical services supporting recovery, such as housing, food, and employment. Care teams will be composed of medical and behavioral health providers, including social workers, community health workers, and certified peer counselors with lived experience of substance use disorder.
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