Interview: Stephanie Schwartz, President of Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center

1) HFNJ’s most recent grant to Overlook is a three-year, $1,000,000 award to create the HFNJ Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Assessment Center. Can you tell us about what Overlook was seeing in its pediatric patient population that made the creation of this center a priority? 

The unmet need for behavioral health services is, unfortunately, little surprise to anyone at this point. This holds true for children as well, and there’s been a steady rise in need for this population following the pandemic, as we have seen in studies and statistics from official sources and national pediatric care organizations. In Atlantic Health’s own most recent Community Health Needs Assessment in 2022, 87.2% of key stakeholders identified mental health as the most significant health challenge in the communities we serve.

Exacerbating the problem for pediatric behavioral health patients is access to care – there simply aren’t enough direct access points to get therapeutic treatment in a timely manner before parents need to resort to the emergency department for care. This leads to a “revolving door” of care that doesn’t serve these patients as well.

What these patients need is an “urgent care” model for children and adolescents who need short-term outpatient psychiatric treatment, allowing for patients in acute crisis to be sent to the emergency department for acute care. HFNJ recognized this need as well, and through our strong relationship, we recognized a shared goal.

2) Once it is launched, how will the HFNJ Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Assessment Center make a difference in the lives of children in our community?

As parents, our first priority whenever our children are in need of care is to get them to that care as quickly as possible. The HFNJ Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Assessment Center is built around that idea.

In short, the Assessment Center is a centralized location where children and adolescents experiencing behavioral health (BH) crises can get promptly evaluated and expedited to treatment without having to go through the Emergency Department or other areas of the hospital. This dedicated point of entry, located in the MAC 1 Building on Overlook’s Summit campus, provides a soothing environment for children and adolescents from ages 5-18 who need BH services related to mood and anxiety disorders, school and relationship problems, adjustment disorders, conduct, and behavioral/attention deficit disorders, with same-day appointments and ultimately walk-ins.

The Assessment Center won’t eliminate the need for emergency services and the emergency department will still be appropriate for pediatric patients who urgently need BH interventions, or have co-existing health conditions. Yet we recognized that there can be a more supportive environment for patients who simply need therapeutic support, not emergency care, and a model to deliver that in a more focused and expedited way.

3) What is the latest update on the build-out of the Assessment Center? What has been done to date, and what will be rolled out in 2026?

The program is up and running, with a launch in late September. Our team of skilled clinicians have already treated several young patients, and we are working to spread the word throughout our communities that the program is here and available to families as the new year begins.

4) Overlook also recently launched the first-in-New Jersey EmPATH unit for adult behavioral emergency patients. Can you tell us about this unique model of care, and how the EmPATH unit and the HFNJ Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Assessment Center exemplify  Overlook’s approach to behavioral health care?

Like the HFNJ assessment center, the EmPATH (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing) unit signifies a broader shift in our approach to psychiatric care. It prioritizes treatment and healing, ensuring patients receive prompt and effective care rather than enduring prolonged waits.

Currently, at hospitals throughout the state, patients with emergency behavioral health needs are faced with prolonged waits in emergency departments for care and bed availability. These patients hold in the emergency department, waiting for a bed where they can begin getting care. The EmPATH model challenges this paradigm by taking behavioral emergency patients out of the emergency department and into a setting in which they will get the appropriate care more quickly, putting them onto a path to recovery. In turn, that reduces volumes and wait times in the emergency department and, ultimately, reduces the need for inpatient hospitalization.

5) In 2022, HFNJ awarded Overlook a $1,000,000 grant to support the modernization and expansion of the Frank and Mimi Walsh Maternity Center. What is the status of that renovation project, and what outcomes have you seen in maternity care to date?

We were proud to welcome the public to get a first-hand look at the redesigned Frank & Mimi Walsh Maternity Center at a “Community Baby Shower” in April just before it opened. The response from the community to this enhancement has been overwhelming support by new families who have chosen to deliver at Overlook.

The new maternity center, redesigned for maximum efficiency and collaboration of the maternity care team, includes all private rooms and is supported by a dedicated team of highly qualified physicians, midwives, nurses, and lactation consultants. It is located in the East Building, a new 3-story expansion to the hospital campus that was completed in January.

The newly enhanced maternity center includes a new post-partum unit, which we gratefully named The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Newborn and Family Care Unit; a renovated labor and delivery unit; new cesarean-section operating rooms, birthing suites, and all-private postpartum rooms with enhanced proximity to a renovated Level III NICU. The new space also includes the Summit Foundation Nursery.

6) Briefly, could you share with us what some of your primary goals are for Overlook Medical Center for the year ahead?

The aforementioned projects have been part of an overall, multi-year transformation of Overlook’s campuses that we expect will continue at least through 2027. Our goal is to position Overlook as the premier provider of health care for our region and a hub of innovation for years to come. In 2026, we will continue this work in areas such as major renovations and updates to the Stacy Goldstein Breast Center, expansion and enhancement of our surgical suites and enhancement to several other areas throughout the hospital. These improvements are only possible through supportive partnerships with organizations like HFNJ, and we are excited to work together in the coming years. I want to thank HFNJ for the trust it has put in Overlook through their generous contributions over the years – support that has made a world of difference for our communities.