New York \u2014 Today, New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the opening of the City\u2019s first Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit at NYC Health + Hospitals\/Bellevue \u2014 a major step towards the Mamdani Administration\u2019s commitment to closing Rikers Island.<\/p>\n
The 104-bed unit will serve people in custody with complex medical needs by transferring the most clinically vulnerable detainees from Rikers Island into a therapeutic setting with closer access to specialty care. It is the first of three planned Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units across the city.<\/p>\n
The Bellevue site represents a fundamental shift in how New York City delivers care to incarcerated people \u2014 moving away from a system defined by delays towards one rooted in dignity, access and prevention.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpening this new clinical facility at Bellevue Hospital is how we begin to close Rikers Island \u2014 not with promises, but with action,\u201d said Mayor Mamdani. \u201cFor too long, people with serious medical needs have been left to suffer in a system that was never designed to care for them. Today, we are building something different: a system that delivers real care, treats people with dignity and makes our city safer for everyone\u2014incarcerated people, corrections officers and all New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s announcement represents an important step forward on the journey to closing Rikers,\u201d said First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan. \u201cThe Mamdani Administration is sending a clear message to New Yorkers that we will govern with compassion, transparency and a willingness to tackle our city\u2019s most complex issues\u201d<\/p>\n
“The Mamdani Administration takes its responsibility to protect the health and well being of every New Yorker seriously. Medical care has been difficult to access for those in the correctional system, particularly those at Rikers Island. That ends now,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Helen Arteaga. “Today, our city takes a monumental step toward righting historical wrongs by opening the first of three Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units that will treat more quickly and humanely individuals with the most acute medical conditions currently detained at Rikers. This is a reaffirmation of Mayor Mamdani’s commitments to reimagine correctional care and provide healthy, dignified spaces to every person in New York City.”<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people come into our care, we must use every resource available to us to meet their individual needs with compassion, innovation, and effective support,\u201d said Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards. \u201cProviding high-quality healthcare is among the most essential services we can offer. While this facility may be small, its impact will extend far beyond its walls, helping to shape a new model of correctional care that will open new possibilities for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor over a decade, NYC Health + Hospitals has been proud to serve patients in the city\u2019s correctional settings, and today marks a new step forward in that care,\u201d said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. \u201cThe Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit at NYC Health + Hospitals\/Bellevue will make it easier for patients with serous medical conditions to access specialty care. This project has been years in the making, and I want to thank the many people who made it possible, including Senior Vice President for Correctional Health Services Dr. Patsy Yang and our colleagues at the NYC Department of Corrections.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opening of the Outposted Therapeutic Housing unit at Bellevue Hospital is a phenomenal achievement for New York City, as it marks another first in carceral care,\u201d said Senior Vice President for NYC Health + Hospitals\/Correctional Health Services Dr. Patsy Yang. \u201cWe at CHS have long envisioned the Outposted units as a better way to care for our most medically involved patients.\u00a0 The units are another milestone in how we see and treat people in a more respectful and decent way.\u00a0 On behalf of our patients and of all those who care for and care about them, we thank Dr. Katz, Commissioner Stanley Richards, and Mayor Mamdani for making this vision a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
This unit is finally opening after years of delays, reflecting a renewed focus on delivering long-promised improvements to the City\u2019s correctional health system. It will serve patients with serious conditions such as cancer and congestive heart failure who do not require hospitalization but face heightened risks in a traditional jail setting.<\/p>\n
Located on the Bellevue hospital campus, the unit provides direct access to a full range of specialty services, including oncology, cardiology and neurology. Correctional Health Services (CHS) clinicians will deliver care on-site, with enhanced monitoring and support in a therapeutic environment designed to improve health outcomes.<\/p>\n
CHS will remain the primary provider of clinical care, working in close coordination with Bellevue specialists. The NYC Department of Correction (DOC) will provide security, custody management, programming and other services. The unit meets all standards set by the NYC Board of Correction and the New York State Commission of Correction.<\/p>\n
The Mamdani Administration will also open additional Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units at NYC Health+ Hospitals\/Woodhull and North Central Bronx (NCB), with 144 and 92 beds, respectively. Those sites will primarily serve CHS patients with significant mental health needs, further expanding access to care and advancing the City\u2019s plan to close Rikers Island for good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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