The GNYHA Foundation was awarded a grant from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) - New York County District Branch to conduct a multidimensional project to increase needed access for vulnerable psychiatric patients needing outpatient services and longer-term inpatient care. The goal of the project is to develop an organized and sustainable system for gathering information regarding access-to-care issues specifically as they impact the psychiatric patient hospitalized in short-term acute care facilities. The project findings will form the framework for important policy proposals that will be developed further and used by stakeholders to investigate changes that might better serve the needs of patients requiring mental health services.

In order to achieve the project goal, the GNYHA Foundation will:

• Develop and Web-enable a uniform State psychiatric center admission application that can be used by providers in New York county;
• Develop an automated tracking tool to assist short-term acute care hospitals to monitor access to care issues for psychiatric patients hospitalized in short-term acute care hospitals in New York County; and
• Pilot-test the tracking tool and uniform admission application to identify technical enhancements and user acceptability.