To provide patients with better access to behavioral health services and programs, Elizabeth, N.J.-based Trinitas Regional Medical Center and Paterson, N.J.-based St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center launched a comprehensive integrated behavioral health network.
The Trinitas-St. Joseph network will provide primary medical care services for patients with mental or behavioral health issues, allowing for earlier diagnoses and referrals into the best possible treatment options for their conditions.
The organizations' financial contributions to the network, if any, have not been disclosed.
"One of the greatest challenges facing patients with mental health and substance health needs is getting into the right program that can offer them the greatest benefit," said Carlos Rueda, MD, regional chairman of psychiatry and behavioral health at the Trinitas-St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Network. "Both Trinitas and St. Joseph's offer a comprehensive array of behavioral health treatment centers, programs and services at dozens of outpatient and satellite facilities throughout the region…Our newly combined network dramatically expands those access points and the opportunities for enhanced outcomes."
"As two of the leaders in the state for behavioral health care, Trinitas and St. Joseph's are exceptionally positioned to respond to the growing mental health needs of New Jersey residents," said Kevin Slavin, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center. "The strength of our new network will not only increase access to care in appropriate settings across three counties, it will result in better outcomes for patients as they move away from the current short-term acute care focus with independent services and programs, to a more patient-centered connected network designed to improve long-term health status."