The state-of-the-art Essex County Hospital Center was completed in December 2006 and welcomed its first patients in February 2007. It has established a clear mission to provide evidence-based care to promote patient recovery and return to community living. The Hospital Center has a well-organized discharge-planning process that ensures all discharges are appropriate and timely. The new facility is designed to support and facilitate Information Technology projects to benefit consumers and the providers. Because the Hospital Center is the receiving hospital for all short-term psychiatric facilities in Essex County, and is the site for community mental health groups, such as the Mental Health Advisory Board, PAC and NAMI, it is well suited to organize a local integrated system of care.
In October 2006, the Institute for Mental Health Policy, Research and Treatment, a new academic division of the Essex County Hospital Center and the first of its kind in New Jersey, was established.
Through the Institute, Essex County and its Hospital Center have established clinical-academic partnerships with various medical schools and related institutions. The Institute has the potential to improve the quality and effectiveness of mental health services to meet patients’ needs by bridging the gap between research and treatment, and to help policy makers reach decisions about funding based on evidence. It is divided into six centers of excellence that specialize in the following areas: The Center for Mood Disorders, the Center for Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders, the Center for Metabolic Disorders, the Center for Workforce Development, the Center for Mental Health Policy, and the Center for Technology Integration.
