a new center is open to better support adults with disabilities the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Center for Autism and developmental disabilities opened in Elizabeth on the campus of Trinitas Regional Medical Center its goal to provide inpatient Behavioral Health Services for those with disabilities who are also dealing with mental illness Raven Santana was at the ribbon cutting to bring us a look at the new space one two three nearly 100 Behavioral Health Specialists Advocates and doctors gathered at Trinitas Regional Medical Center for a ribbon cutting to unveil the Health Care Foundation of New Jersey Center for Autism and developmental disabilities on the hospital's new Point campus the first of its kind in the state as of 2023 New Jersey now has the third highest rate of autism in the nation that's unbelievable as well this means more and more individuals are aging out of Child and Adolescent services with limited programs and resources the new center expands trmc's inpatient Behavioral Health Services for adults with intellectual developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental illnesses to meet the specialized needs of this population I think you know we tend to think that we don't realize that we can't do a one-size-fits-all treatment for everyone we really need to look at what the specialized needs are of each community and this is a community that is so vulnerable and having someone be able to get the treatment that they need have their medications adjusted have behavioral specialists who really understand how to figure out you know what works best for each individual that comes into the unit the center will feature 12 new beds increasing the hospital's capacity to 22 beds the State Department of Community Affairs assisted through funding through the American Rescue act and we had tremendous support from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey and the Trinitas foundation and without all of that support we never would have been able to expand our services in this way typically when someone with an intellectual and developmental disability arrives at an emergency room it's because there's been some destabilizing event have been a conflict at home it could be that their routine was interrupted it could be that their medications need to be adjusted and they've gone from a state of let's say normal adaptation to a more excited or acute state so they're often confused they're often frightened they're often agitated this is an example of Mentor each in addition to the two beds there's also a bathroom for those patients which staff says will help decrease the time vulnerable patients spend in the emergency room any individuals who are acutely ill May either inadvertently or perhaps advertently be at risk harm themselves either through falling or self-stimulating behavior or maybe even a behavior that they're not completely in control of this environment is designed to be as safe as possible and also to allow both privacy and also access by the clinical staff to be able to keep a watchful eye on them 24 hours a day seven days a week staff is now just waiting for the state to inspect the facility before opening the center to the public for NG Spotlight news I'm Raven Santana [Music] [Music]