Editor's note: Mental Health Musings (MHM) will focus on community resources and stories throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Erie County Medical Center announced on May 26 it received funding from three local foundations to expand two outpatient behavioral health initiatives.

The funds will be used to develop an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and expand the hours of ECMC’s Help Center. 

“As our region’s leader in comprehensive Behavioral Health services, we are committed to developing and implementing programs like IOP and further expanding existing services like the Help Center that will provide critically important care for the residents of Western New York and save lives,” said Thomas Quatroche Jr., ECMC President, and CEO, in a press release. 

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, Patrick P. Lee Foundation, and The John R. Oishei Foundation each donated $258,118 totaling $774,354 for these two programs over five years. 

The IOP model is a step below inpatient settings, like ECMC’s Partial Hospitalization Program, but it is a step up from traditional outpatient programs.

The new program will provide access to medication and counseling services, with each patient engaging in individual, group and family psychotherapy. 

IOP creates an alternative to inpatient hospitalizations and may help shorten necessary hospital stays, according to a press release. 

ECMC’s Help Center is an outpatient crisis walk-in clinic that helps individuals who are struggling acting as either a short-term service or a bridge that connects people with long-term solutions via social workers.

The current hours of operation for the Help Center are 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekdays. The funding will expand these hours. 

"Now more than ever, behavioral health services are a critical part of our community’s wellbeing,” Esther Annan, program officer for The John R. Oishei Foundation, said in a press release. “We believe that ECMC’s expanded services will provide care that is needed in WNY and we are pleased to join our fellow funders to support these outpatient initiatives.”