St. John’s Episcopal Hospital Receives $3 Million from the Honorable Congressman Gregory Meeks in Support of The Behavioral Health Equity Renovation Project

Far Rockaway, New York, February 27, 2023 — On February 15, Congressman Gregory Meeks delivered a $3 Million dollar check to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital as part of his community projects tour within his district in the Rockaways. St. John’s will use the muchneeded funds to renovate an 18,000 square foot inpatient Behavioral Health Unit that has not been updated since the 1950’s.

“The $3 million that we are receiving as part of the FY23 Congressionally Directed Funding Award and the $2 million that we received from the program last year will go towards significantly improving the St. John’s Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit and the Mental Healthcare that we are able to deliver” said Mr. Gerard Walsh, CEO of St. John’s Episcopal Health Services. “The Behavioral Health Equity Renovation Project will create a modern Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit that will encourage patients and their families to seek the mental health treatment that they need,” Mr. Walsh added.

The project will create a centrally located nurse’s station to ensure continuous visual monitoring of the unit to promote patient safety; embedded physicians’ offices into the unit to allow patients and families to better communicate with their care team; updated bathrooms that reflect a more comfortable environment that is still free from ligature and fall risks; refurbished patient rooms that will promote dignity and recovery and a “comfort room” for patients, family visitation space and group activities.

“SJEH is near and dear to my heart. My mom took her last breath at St. John’s hospital, which is the only hospital in the peninsula serving the Rockaways. Mental health is a growing concern, particularly here in the Far Rockaway community and the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated existing problems creating new barriers to treatment,” added Congressman Meeks.