KIPS BAY — Bellevue Hospital is planning a $2.3 million expansion of its children’s psychiatric ward, the Daily News reported.
The hospital, located at 462 First Ave. in Kips Bay, will use those funds to add 15 inpatient beds to its existing 30-bed facility. The added capacity will allow the hospital to accommodate a five-fold increase in the number of child psychiatric patients who have visited Bellevue in the last 15 years, from about 155 visits in 1995 to more than 1,000 in 2009.
The hospital attributes the rise in child psychiatric patients in part to the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital in the West Village. But an increase in referrals from local schools and a better overall awareness of children’s mental health issues have also contributed to heightened demand, according to the hospital.
Bellevue has been significantly expanding its children’s services in recent months. The hospital opened a $1.1 million children’s psychiatric emergency care center, the first of its kind in a city public hospital, in November.
In July, it unveiled a $5.2 million, 14,000-square-foot neonatal intensive care unit. That same month, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation awarded Bellevue $350,000 to renovate and modernize a health care center it operates at Norman Thomas High School.
