| 03/04/2003 • Press Releases |
| Belgium Center and NSUH Join Forces |
 North Shore University Hospital at Glen Cove and the Belgium Center for Mental Health Join Forces to Enhance Behavioral Health Services.
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Glen Cove, NY – Teaming up to provide more comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services for the community, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) at Glen Cove and the Angelo J. Belgium Center for Mental Health have signed an agreement of clinical affiliation.
Mark Stenzler, executive director of NSUH at Glen Cove, said the goal of clinical affiliation is to continue to support and enhance each organization’s services, work on joint strategic planning initiatives for the Glen Cove area, and help with cross-referrals when appropriate.
“The new affiliation between the hospital and the Belgium Center will offer Nassau County residents a full continuum of mental health and substance abuse services, as well as access to other health care services,” said Mr. Stenzler. NSUH at Glen Cove serves patients of both facilities through the 18-bed inpatient psychiatric unit, the emergency room and a Family Practice Center.
Daniel J. Vogrin, PhD, executive director of the Belgium Center for Mental Health, said, “This new agreement fuses a stronger relationship between our institutions and allows us to work more creatively to serve the needs of the community.”
“Our mental health and chemical dependency programs complement one another,” Dr. Vogrin said. “There is potential for the concept of staff sharing and staff training, and perhaps clinical residency programs in the future.”
Both Mr. Stenzler and Dr. Vogrin agreed that the significant number of residential housing beds at the Belgium Center for Mental Health will help with discharges in the hospital’s psychiatric unit. In turn, NSUH at Glen Cove will assist the Belgium Center with its outpatient alcohol services, by providing back-up psychiatric services and inpatient services as needed.
The Belgium Center for Mental Health provides a wide range of outpatient mental health services, including individual, family and group psychotherapy; psychiatric services; alcohol counseling; and Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), a program that serves people with severe and persistent mental illness who are unable to receive treatment in a more traditional setting. Its extensive residential program provides housing for people with mental illness, with more than 200 beds in group homes, supported apartments and emergency housing.
In addition to the psychiatric unit at NSUH at Glen Cove, the Community House provides six treatment programs, including the Adolescent Services Unit, the Women’s and Children’s Program, the Outpatient Drug Free Program, the Methadone Treatment Program and the Adolescent Wellness Program.
For more than 30 years, both organizations have had a close working relationship in providing behavioral health services to the community through their long-standing involvement in Glen Cove’s InterAgency Council (IAC), an organization promoting collaboration in the human services field. Dr. Vogrin is immediate past president of IAC, and the organization was founded under the auspices of NSUH at Glen Cove as part of a university-based community project.
Dr. Vogrin serves on NSUH at Glen Cove’s Advisory Committee and Terry Henn, RN, associate executive director of NSUH at Glen Cove, is a member of the Board of Directors at the Belgium Center for Mental Health.
The programs and services of the Division of Substance Abuse Services at NSUH at Glen Cove are licensed through the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), the Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). In addition, the Division of Substance Abuse Services is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO).
The services of the Belgium Center for Mental Health are regulated and funded by the state OASAS, the state OMH, the county Department of Mental Health and the county Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction. The Belgium Center also receives funding from the United Way, special grants and donations.
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For Further Information Contact
Daniel J. Vogrin Ph.D., Executive Director
516-676-2388
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