Learn more about this project. - Support St. Lukes Roosevelt

Department of Psychiatry
and Behavioral Health
Plant & Scrymser Redesign

The landmark Global Burden of Disease Study found that—globally—4 of the 6
leading causes of disability are treatable psychiatric disorders (depression, alcoholuse
disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder). This statistic is not just about
“them,” because mental health problems, including addictions, affect all of us
The burden of mental health disorders, in addition to the
direct cost of treatment (estimated at over $66 billion), has
extraordinary social and economic costs.
1 in 4 families
has at least one
member with a
mental disorder.
• Family care responsibilities and discrimination that
impacts quality of life
• Disruption of education and careers with onset of
mental disorders
• Absenteeism and lost productivity at work
• 59% of the costs of injury or illness-related loss of
productivity is due to mental illness – that’s $193.2
billion in lost earnings per year in the US!

“There is no health without mental health.”
-David Satcher, MD, Former Surgeon General of the United States
Mental disorders are highly interrelated with medical illness and
they impact each other:
• Mental disorders increase the risk of having medical problems.
• Having a chronic medical disease increases the risk of having a mental disorder.
• People with chronic medical problems fare worse in the context of mental disorders.
This may be because:
• People with medical diseases often have mental disorders that are under-recognized, and
not always treated effectively.
• People with mental disorders may not adhere as well to their treatment schedules for
physical disorders.
• People with severe mental disorders are less likely to get appropriate medical services. 60%
of Americans with a mental disorder get no treatment at all for their ailment.
Mental illness is a common, pervasive and critical public
health and economic problem. Is there any good news
in all of this?
Yes. Treatment works, and reduces the social and economic burden.
Medical research has provided evidence that psychological factors can play a major role in
illnesses, and that behavioral health services are an important component of overall care.
• Along with heart disease, cancer, trauma, and osteoarthritis, mental disorders are among the
five most costly medical conditions.
• Treating mental illness with effective interventions not only improves quality of life, but improves
overall medical outcomes, and reduces disability.

Our Background
St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center is
affiliated with Columbia University College
of Physicians and Surgeons. Founded by a
merger in 1979, The St. Luke’s site is located
on Amsterdam Avenue and 114th Street and
the Roosevelt site is located on 59th and
10th Avenue. St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital
Center reaches out to medically underserved
communities in surrounding Manhattan
neighborhoods through partnerships with
community based organizations, health
centers, school-based clinics, and other
community groups. As a non-profit and
owned by Continuum Health Partners,
St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center is
governed by its own Board of Trustees.
Through Continuum Health Partners,
St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center is
affiliated with Beth Israel Medical Center,
and New York Eye & Ear Infirmary.
The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Health at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital
was founded in 1954. During this time
the Mental Health Act of 1959 was passed
and long-term psychiatric inpatient care
began declining with a national agenda to
provide humane care within communities.
With a commitment to the full and healthy
lives of all New Yorkers, over the last 50
years the Department of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Health has grown to provide over
35 programs recognized nationally for their
excellence especially in the areas of addiction
medicine and community psychiatry.
Original 113th Street entrance to St. Luke’s Hospital

Our Mission
The mission of our Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health has remained unwavering and
is threefold, encompassing excellence in service, teaching and advancing our knowledge through
cutting edge research. Our mission is to provide outstanding health care and to meet the mental
health needs of New York City.
St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals are dedicated to providing the very best in behavioral health
services, geared to people in the community they live in. We provide comprehensive, high-quality
services, which empower individuals to change their lives.
• We effect change in our neighborhoods through consumer education, outreach and
community collaboration.
• We shape the future through leading-edge research and the development of skilled
professional staff to help serve individuals and their community.
• Through our accredited internship, residency training, and fellowship programs, we
contribute both locally and nationally to our mental health resources.
Every year we provide over 185,000 patient care visits
to community members across the life span from infancy to elder
care. We reach thousands more through our delivery of workshops
and talks both within the hospital and outside of its walls.

Our Programs
The Child and Family Institute (CFI) provides a full range of
child and adolescent psychiatric treatment programs, which meet
the needs of a diverse community, while maintaining state-of-theart
treatment and quality assurance. CFI supports resilience by delivering a continuum of services
including outpatient and school-based day programs, home and community based services,
blended case management, as well as crisis intervention and home-based services to prevent
hospitalizations. CFI is also committed to training a broad range of community-minded child and
adolescent clinicians, from Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists to marriage and family therapists.
Within its portfolio, CFI is also active in leading clinical research activities. CFI’s Outpatient Clinic
will be housed within Plant & Scrymser.
The Addiction Institute of New York (AINY) is a world-renowned
addiction treatment center: a comprehensive treatment, education, and
research magnet, specializing in the care of people with substance use
and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. It focuses on individualized care,
including inpatient, outpatient, residential services, opioid treatment, a
day program for adolescents, and consultation to medical and surgical units. AINY is the premier
addiction research and teaching site for Columbia University. It will contribute its Trinity House and
Women’s Health Project programs to Plant & Scrymser. A unique and critical community service
that Trinity House provides is the Connect Program for young women and their children. The
Women’s Health Project provides treatment for women who have been victims of crimes, trauma,
or abuse and who suffer from addictions.
The Division of Outpatient & Community Psychiatry
(DOC) is comprised of adult outpatient programs and
community-based psychiatric services. It assists people in
optimizing personal recovery and actively connects them
with community resources. In addition to hospital clinic
services, DOC provides community-based service at an
outpatient clinic satellite provides psychiatric staffing to local
community-based organizations. DOC programs involved in
this project: The Psychiatric Recovery Center (PRC), The Adult
Outpatient Clinic (OPC), and Primary Care Services.
“I am a woman 43 years
of age and I suffer from
anxiety, depression and
schizophrenia. Coming
to a program has been
important to my treatment
and progress. Without the
support and network of the
treatment team, I would be
lost.” -- Maria L.

The Future
Advances in medicine have made it possible to
deinstitutionalize mental health care for severely
ill individuals and to treat on an outpatient basis
patients who can now live in their communities,
attend school, work and live healthier lives.
Unfortunately, stigma about receiving mental
health services, let alone addiction services still
presents a major obstacle in access to care for
many. Both the integration of health with mental
health care and expanding our roots in the
community are vital in our future delivery of care.
With this in mind, our plans for Plant & Scrymser
are to:
1. Integrate primary health care with our mental
health services
2. Increase our evidence based care, becoming a
premier site for communities in need.
3. Continue our mission of excellence in teaching
and training
Side view showing architectural details of
The Margaret J. Plant Pavilion
*2002 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report
4. Advance the field of psychiatry with research specifically targeting co-occurring disorders, early
on-set psychosis and childhood trauma.
We will accomplish this by filling six of the existing eight floors of Plant & Scrymser with our
transformed clinical services. Our goal is to collaborate with existing St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital
Center primary and specialty care programs and our community partners to offer innovative,
evidenced based care. Our informatics infrastructure will support an electronic medical record
available to clinicians of all disciplines working with each patient. We will utilize state of the art
technologies in telemedicine and offer comprehensive care on-site with roots into the community.
Our family friendly site will be welcoming to all cultures, and fill a need on the Upper West Side for
enhanced mental health services. Educational programs on-site will reach family and community
members struggling to understand addiction and mental illness while also addressing wellness
and complimentary medicine. Research and evaluation of our programs will be integrated and
seamless—part of the fabric of what will make this project a model for the New York State and
the nation.

Plant & Scrymser: 21st Century Care in a 19th Century-Styled Home
Designated as NYC Landmarks in the historic Morningside Heights, the Plant and Scrymser
pavilions were designed by Beaux-Arts trained architect Ernest Flagg. The construction of both
historic buildings on St. Luke’s Hospital campus were funded through the generosity of individuals
committed to making an impact on health care of their fellow New Yorkers. Margaret J. Plant,
widow of Henry Bradley Plant (1819-1899), became a major philanthropist with the inheritance
of her husband’s fortune earned from railroads, steamship lines and hotels. She financed the Plant
Pavilion, dedicated in 1906. The Scrymser Pavilion, completed in 1928, was named for James
Alexander Scrymser, a pioneer in the development of telegraph cable lines, whose legacy of more
than one million dollars was received by the hospital after his widow, Mary Catherine passed
away.
Originally built to house private patients allowing for spacious rooms with views of beautiful
Morningside Park, today Plant & Scrymser represent a powerful opportunity for transformation
of clinical care within reach of all New Yorkers. These handsome buildings are clad in rusticated
stone and buff-colored brick, with mansard roofs. The Plant Pavilion in French Renaissance Revival
style, has marble and granite through the two lowest stories and light pressed brick and terra
cotta above.*
These buildings provide a unique philanthropic opportunity in which to support preserving the rich
architectural legacy of New York while serving the medical mission of St. Luke’s Hospital.

Funding Opportunity
St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals is embarking on a $20 million project to renovate and relocate
all programs into one building in an effort to consolidate services and enhance access to care for
patients. The hospitals have committed $15 million and we seek an additional $5 million to reach
our goal. In addition to the necessary structural work to make the space functional for patient
services, we are striving to provide our clients with an inviting and dignifying space in which they
receive their care. Examples include:
• Reinforce and enclose our balconies with glass to preserve the breathtaking park views,
offering clients a calm, beautiful waiting area in a space that would otherwise remain unused.
• Beautify the space to make it inviting and comfortable for all members of the community
that come to us for treatment.
Our vision is to create a distinctly non-institutional
environment for patients and families receiving services.
For further information, please reach out to:
Richard N. Rosenthal, MD, Chairman (212) 523-5366
David Wyman, Assistant Vice President (212) 523-5643
Miriam Martinez, PhD, Chief Strategic Initiatives (212) 523-2025
Susan Fenton, Director, Special Projects (212) 523-7342