Oswego Health finalizing plans for behavioral-health services center

OSWEGO — Oswego Health officials say plans are being finalized to turn a former grocery store into a modern 20-bed behavioral-health care facility.

“Oswego Health’s new Behavioral Health Services facility will not only provide the many services that our patients need in an attractive facility specifically built to offer this specialized care, but it will also assist in the positive transition of a neighborhood,” Oswego Health President and CEO Michael Harlovic said in a release. “We are looking forward to creating a facility that is sure to be a model for other health systems in New York State.”

Oswego Health plans to convert 43,000 square feet of the former Oswego Price Chopper at 29 East Cayuga St. into a facility with secure outdoor spaces, a kitchen, and “comfortable interior spaces.”

Oswego Health currently provides behavioral-health services — treatment and support for mental-health issues — at a county-owned facility on Bunner Street. Oswego Health has been providing such services since 1981.

According to its annual report, Oswego Health had nearly 800 discharges from its inpatient behavioral-health services program in 2017. In addition, the Child Family Services program attracted 17,438 adult outpatient visits and another 10,000 outpatient visits.

The planned new facility will include access to primary care services and Oswego Health’s care-management team, which assists those seeking needed community programs.

In addition to creating a modern facility, officials see the new facility as part of efforts to revitalize the East Side of Oswego. The location, adjacent to the Oswego Fire Department and near Fort Ontario, is a block from the county office building.

The project is being aided by a New York State Department of Health grant of $13 million that was announced in 2017.