Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health is renovating and moving its inpatient psychiatric unit, changes to give patients more privacy, safer spaces and better access to care.
The new two-story facility will emphasize a “therapeutic environment” with natural light, large windows and murals inspired by nature, said Meredith Price, senior vice president of acute operations at St. Joe’s. It will also improve the way staff can monitor patient rooms, she said.
Most importantly, the changes will enable St. Joe’s to accept overnight stays for more patients experiencing mental health crises.
Although the hospital is authorized to treat 30 people at a time, Price said it can usually only accommodate 22 people at a time. That’s because the unit, based in a building on James Street, only has a few single rooms.
“There are several semi-private rooms and that creates problems with patient allocation and being able to fully utilize the unit,” Price said.
In the future, the unit will have more single rooms. This means that St. Joe’s will be able to make better use of all 30 beds, she said.
“So it’s really going to create some efficiencies and the ability to treat more patients on the unit in a safer way,” Price said.
St. Joe’s has the only comprehensive psychiatric emergency program in central New York, Price said.
Often, people who are admitted to inpatient care first come through a hospital’s psychiatric emergency department, also known as CPEP. They need treatment for conditions such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar diagnoses.
After stabilization in the emergency room, some are subsequently admitted institutional treatment. This includes medication, psychotherapy, group therapy, family therapy, and behavioral therapy. Those are the patients who will use the renovated space, which will be a few blocks closer to CPEP than the James Street location now.
The $21.5 million project calls for renovating and expanding the first and second floors of the building known as the Clare Loeber Smith Center, according to a project plan the hospital submitted to Syracuse.
Price said the building on Union Avenue between Prospect Avenue and North Townsend Street has been vacant for several years.
The renovation will address the delayed upgrades according to the project plan. This includes updates to heating and cooling systems, electrical and plumbing systems, windows and elevators, and a new entrance on Union Avenue. The building’s facade will be renovated to mimic the appearance of other renovated buildings on the hospital campus, the plan states.
There won’t be a new parking lot, but new sidewalks are part of the plan.
The new interior layout will also be safer for patients and staff because it will offer a more centralized way for staff to oversee the area, Price said.
“The current unit is kind of broken to pieces right now,” she said. “It’s hard to see all the areas and patients.
Price said she expects the additional private rooms will allow the hospital to more often accept patients who need to be transferred from other hospitals.
The hospital secured $16.9 million from the New York State Department of Health for the project in 2018. Covid-19 halted the planning process.
Price said the hospital has no plans for the building on James Street, between Lodi and Catherine streets, which will be empty after the renovation is complete.
“We’re assessing the life of the building that housed the behavioral health services. So there may be some other changes with that space, but nothing will be going into it at this point,” she said.
Price said she expects the renovation to be completed by the end of 2027.
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