Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center

Bronx-Lebanon’s Department of Psychiatry offers comprehensive care for mental health and chemical dependency problems that are affecting adults, adolescents, and children. The department accounts for more than 200,000 visits annually, and is widely recognized as a leader in the provision of community mental health services. “This is a very exciting time for our services,” stated Dr. Levine.

“Our residency program has expanded from 24 to 29 trainees, and at the same time we have initiated a new post-residency fellowship training program in Psychosomatic Medicine, which will equip doctors of the future to integrate mental health and general health treatments,” stated Dr. Lizica Troneci, Vice Chairman, Psychiatry/Director, Training.

The Department is leading the way to provide innovative services that take the whole patient into account. It had previously launched the successful Intensive Wellness Program, which provides both mental health and general health care for patients at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Center who are at high risk for hospitalization because of their multitude of co-existing problems (such as bipolar illness, diabetes, hypertension, and chemical dependency all at once).

In 2010 the Department was awarded a four-year $2 million federal grant award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) to provide similar services to individuals with chronic mental illnesses who have not received needed general health care. “As a family nurse practitioner myself, I am extremely proud of our innovations in combining mental health and general health care,” added Raymond Esteves, Assistant Vice President, Clinical Services, Psychiatry.

“During this Year of Oral Health, it is evident that our Department of Dentistry’s success is contributing to the emotional well being of its patients and the community.”
-Dr. Jeffrey Levine, Chairman, Psychiatry.

Theresa Rivera, Art/Activity Therapist, involved in art workshop with adolescents.

In the mental health area, the most exciting new project to bring comprehensive care is Bronx-Lebanon’s planned Life Recovery Center. This striking complex, which will open in 2012, will be the only center in New York State to combine inpatient, outpatient, and residential services for individuals suffering from chemical dependency.

“The Life Recovery Center will help us fulfill our goal of accepting nothing less for our patients than full recovery and return to their lives, family and work,” stated Dr. John Osei-Tutu, Director, Addiction Psychiatry. Dr. Kamala Greene, Program Director, Addiction Services, is a nationally recognized expert in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), through which individuals learn to recognize their own “triggers” and develop coping strategies.

Our new 56,000 square foot Life Recovery Center will be completed in 2013.

CBT is known to improve depression and anxiety in many studies just as effectively as medications. Dr. Greene is leading the efforts to train resident physicians, social workers, and others who work in the large ambulatory mental health programs of the Department of Psychiatry.

“The great thing is that we are able to help patients with all sorts of anxieties, including fear of dental procedures,” adds Dr. Ketki Shah, Director, Outpatient Psychiatry. Bronx-Lebanon’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division offers emergent, inpatient and outpatient services. “We are the cornerstone of child mental health services in the South Bronx,” stated Ellen McLean, LCAT, Administrative Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The department also provides services to more than 7,000 psychiatric emergencies annually in its Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP). The CPEP Mobile Crisis Team responds to an additional 1,000 emergent problems per year across the Bronx.

“Our extraordinary team helps people wherever and whenever they are called,” stated Paula Gorney, LCSW, Director, Psychiatric Social Work. “We offer residents of the Bronx whatever services they need in a flexible, respectful, and successful manner. A great many people depend on us. We will not let them down. Our professionals are dedicated every day to the recovery of their patients,” stated Dr. Levine.