Council Member Wilson asks H&H how hospital exits affect capacity and tracking
Carl Wilson asks how the city assesses capacity and mental health impacts when major hospital systems stop youth affirming care. Wallach says H&H monitors demand and capacity and stands ready to support all patients; Fattal says mental health capacity exists and gives the contact center number.
And with that, I'll pass it over to Councilmember Wilson.
Thank you, Chair.
Appreciate those comments.
Hi there.
Thank you for your testimony.
I have a, for H&H, when a major hospital system stops providing gender-affirming care for youth, how does the city assess the resulting impact on both
hospital capacity and the mental health of the affected patients and who is responsible for tracking those outcomes.
Yeah, so I'll start and then I'll pass it over to Dr.
Vital.
And just to say, it's hard for us to comment on what the private hospitals are doing, but we stand, as we've said in our testimony, at the ready to fully support all patients in need of care, no exceptions.
And so as part of any other type of care that New York City Health and Hospitals provides, whether it's cardiology or GYN services, we regularly monitor what that demand is, and we look at our capacity within our system, and we adjust
what is available to patients.
So it's no different for gender-affirming care, and it's something that we keep a close look at.
Yeah, exactly.
Same thing for mental health.
Our mission is to serve all New Yorkers without exception.
And I'm happy to say that we do have capacity in mental health right now.
We've made it very easy for New Yorkers who are looking for help to get it.
This is for all New Yorkers, including LGBTQ plus people.
One number, 1-844-NYC for NYC.
All they have to do is ask to be connected to behavioral services, and we can connect them to care.