Nov. 30--NIAGARA FALLS -- Construction is almost complete on the first phase of a $6.9 million project to overhaul the behavioral health center at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center to modernize the facility and make it safer for patients.

A 29-bed unit for men, which offers larger activity areas for therapy and comfort rooms, is scheduled to open Dec. 15.

A new 25-bed women's unit will follow next spring.

The new center will nearly double the space for psychiatric care at the hospital and replaces units that were "over 35 years old and outdated, ill-equipped and didn't meet code," according to Memorial Chief Executive Officer Joseph A. Ruffolo.

"The old center was primarily an old medical unit, so it really wasn't designed for psychiatric care," said Cheryl Kraft, the hospital's clinical coordinator. "The new unit will be much more patient centered, and our goal is that we can help with recovery with our behavioral health patients in a quicker and more advantageous way for them."

The $6.9 million project, conceived several years ago, is funded primarily with tax-exempt bonds that will be paid back with the hospital's share of slot machine revenue from the Seneca Niagara Casino.

The hospital is the only provider of inpatient behavioral health services in Niagara County, and Ruffolo said a recent community health needs assessment found behavioral health services to be one of the area's major health priorities behind vascular, diabetes and oncology care.

The new behavioral health units, hospital officials said, are designed to improve safety. For example, lights, sprinklers and shower heads are all recessed so they aren't a danger to patients. Even the way screws are inserted into the walls has been changed to prevent potential problems, Kraft said.

"The existing units rely on the staff to be much more vigilant and observant to make sure that there were no hazards," said Frank Maietta, director of outpatient behavioral health services.

The new units are also designed to accommodate modern behavioral health therapies. There are additional lounge areas for conducting group sessions and some private rooms for individual therapy. The hospital has also phased out seclusion areas and replaced them with comfort rooms designed to calm patients.

"They're supposed to be quiet, comfortable areas where you can do things with lighting and music and sounds to help patients relax," Kraft said, "as opposed to locking or restraining them, which is what was used in the past."

The new units will be on the hospital's second and third floors and will replace units on opposite ends of the center.

The new adult behavioral health center is seen by Memorial officials as a new chapter after they closed the hospital's adolescent psychiatric unit last year to help stave off financial losses. Children are now sent to hospitals in Buffalo for inpatient treatment.

Hospital officials also considered closing the 54-bed adult behavioral health center last year because of losses in uncompensated care from patients with no health insurance, but decided against the plan.

Maietta said hospital officials will begin to look at outpatient behavioral health services once the inpatient units are complete.

Lynne Shuster, of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Buffalo and Erie County, said she would take a wait-and-see approach to determining whether the newly renovated center will mean better care.

"Heaven knows they have a long, long way to go in Western New York," Shuster said of the region's mental health facilities.

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