TEAM UP Partners with Robin Hood to Expand Access to Behavioral Health Care in NYC
The TEAM UP Scaling and Sustainability Center (TEAM UP) at Boston Medical Center is proud to announce our new partnership with Robin Hood to expand TEAMS First NYC, a multi-year initiative bringing integrated behavioral health care to pediatric practices across New York City (NYC). TEAM UP equips pediatric practices to identify behavioral health needs early and connect children across the pediatric age spectrum to care within their medical home, often on the same day a concern is raised. This partnership responds directly to a growing pediatric mental health crisis, with families across NYC facing long waits, fragmented services, and limited access to care close to home.
Robin Hood, NYC’s largest local poverty-fighting philanthropy, focuses on elevating New Yorkers out of poverty by funding, supporting, and connecting high-impact community organizations, partnering with government, and advocating for what works so that NYC can be an engine of upward mobility for all.
The investment builds on Robin Hood’s existing commitment to pediatric behavioral health in NYC, where it partners with Healthfirst on an early childhood initiative within TEAMS First NYC, embedding community health workers in pediatric primary care practices to serve families with young children. This new funding will support inclusion of the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in the initiative across two pediatric locations in Manhattan and Queens that together serve over 20,000 children.
TEAMS First NYC reaches more than 62,000 children across five pediatric practices and seven locations in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. The initiative is led by TEAM UP in collaboration with Healthfirst, NYC REACH, NYC Health + Hospitals, Project TEACH, and The Community Health Worker Institute at Montefiore Einstein. The Carmel Hill Fund provides anchor funding for the initiative, with braided support from Robin Hood.
“This investment represents a meaningful expansion in reaching more children and families with evidence-informed behavioral healthcare. Too many families have had to navigate a complicated system on their own to find timely mental health care for their children,” said Anita Morris, MSN, FNP-BC, executive director of the TEAM UP Center. “Robin Hood’s commitment will significantly expand our ability to positively impact how pediatric practices deliver mental health care — connecting patients with services within their medical home, often on the same day a concern is identified. Together, we are making a meaningful and lasting difference for New York children and families.”
“Several studies demonstrate that TEAM UP improves access to behavioral services for kids seen in pediatrics,” according to Emily Feinberg, ScD, CPNP, senior director of the TEAM UP Center, professor at Brown University School of Public Health, and a pediatric primary care provider, who practiced at a TEAM UP site. “The TEAM UP model addresses this challenge of timely access to care by fully integrating behavioral healthcare into primary care, where children regularly access care. We are excited to collaborate with Robin Hood to make this possible in NYC.”
To learn more about this initiative and how to get involved, reach out to TEAM UP directly for more information.
About TEAM UP
Since its inception in 2015, TEAM UP has supported more than 20 practices and trained more than 1,500 professionals in implementing the TEAM UP model and building capacity for integrated behavioral healthcare. Anchor funding for the TEAM UP Center was provided by the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation and The Klarman Family Foundation.