The City Council introduced a bill at a committee on mental health, disabilities and addiction hearing Tuesday that would implement a syringe buyback program at the city’s two Overdose Prevention Centers in the hopes of incentivizing New Yorkers who use drugs to use OPC services, reducing syringe litter and decreasing overdose deaths.
Introduction 609, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala of Manhattan, would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to set up a pilot program that would give OPC participants 20 cents back per needle, syringe or sharp they bring into the center for disposal, capped at $10 per day. Anyone could bring materials in to get money back, but the program is intended for active drug users who are registered at the OPCs in East Harlem and Washington Heights. The program would run for a year before the Health Department would be required to decide whether to continue it, Ayala told Crain’s.
The bill has been introduced at a time when city overdose deaths are hitting record highs. Advocates hope the pilot, if passed, will decrease overdoses and public drug use that community members have been increasingly concerned about; it, too, has ballooned during the pandemic.
The pricing structure is modeled after a similar pilot program in Boston, which also gives 20 cents per needle with a $10 daily cap. The Health Department is in conversations with officials in Boston to discuss the pilot, Ayala said.
In the committee hearing Tuesday, community members expressed concern about the upswing in syringe litter they see in neighborhoods. Some had questions about whether a buyback program is the solution.
When asked about the bill, the Health Department referred Crain’s to testimony at Tuesday’s hearing by Dr. Michael McRae, deputy commissioner of the division of mental hygiene. McRae expressed support for the bill’s intention, but he said that as it stands, New Yorkers at the OPCs who are users cannot take their supplies out of the centers. He questioned the need for a buyback program if the people it’s intended for can’t take equipment into the community in the first place.
While the City Council doesn’t want to incentivize drug users to buy more drugs by giving them money, the alternative to a buyback program—more syringes on the streets that could potentially harm children or community members, as well as more untrained members of the public picking up the litter—is worse, Ayala said.
“I’m sure it will be controversial, but when you consider the alternative, something drastic has to happen, and it has to happen immediately,” she said.
Ayala said supporters also hope the buyback program will be more cost-effective and efficient than the city’s current methods of picking up syringe litter, which include a constellation of contracts with community groups, or calling 311 to have a Department of Sanitation worker come to dispose of the litter. From the call to disposal can take about 24 hours.
The city health department could not immediately provide Crain's with details about the contracts with community organizations.
Jasmine Budnella, director of drug policy at Voices of Community Activists and Leaders, a syringe service program and advocacy organization in Downtown Brooklyn, said the buyback program would be a win-win.
Crucially, she said, it would encourage New Yorkers to receive services at the overdose prevention centers and syringe service programs. At the facilities people can access safe supplies for using drugs, naloxone for overdoses, care coordination services, referrals to other community-based services, and even acupuncture.
The program could also help decrease stigma by allowing people to have a more active role in their neighborhoods, Budnella added.
“People think that people who use drugs don’t want to be in the community or be part of the community. But [people] care about their neighborhoods,” she said. “The amount of backlash I’ve seen [against the program] is both stigmatizing and harmful.”
The city’s overdose prevention centers, which are the first of their kind in the country, have been embroiled in controversy since they opened in November 2021. Community members first argued against the centers’ proximity to shared spaces, such as playgrounds.
Nearly a year later, OnPoint NYC, which operates the centers, told Crain’s that as of Sept. 14, there are 1,757 registered OPC participants. There were 36,160 OPC visits and utilizations, OnPoint said, and the centers have intervened in 490 overdoses, potentially saving hundreds of lives. Most recently both centers have begun using drug-testing technology that helps warn communities about “bad batches” of drugs that contain lethal levels of fentanyl. Advocates are pushing for the OPCs to be open 24/7 to increase access to services.
Ayala said the City Council is waiting on feedback from the Health Department’s conversations with Boston about its pilot program before potentially making amendments to the bill. She said that, if passed, she hopes the program would go into effect as soon as possible. —Jacqueline Neber
Northwell Health’s systemwide fundraising campaign has surpassed its $1 billion goal, prompting the health system to commit to raising an additional $400 million by the end of 2024, executives plan to announce Thursday.
Northwell started the campaign in 2016 and publicly launched it in 2018. Nearly 170,000 donors have participated, including 11,000 Northwell employees who collectively contributed more than $15 million. The system employs more than 80,000.
The fundraising to date includes $422 million in programmatic gifts, $412 million in capital gifts and $186 million for Northwell’s endowment.
Brian Lally, the system’s chief development officer, said the additional $400 million in philanthropy would support health equity initiatives, employee wellness, a new outpatient facility on Manhattan’s East Side and a 104-bed behavioral health facility for children on its Glen Oaks hospital campus.
The outpatient facility, which would feature an on-site cancer center, is separate from Northwell’s plan to expand Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side, which Lally said got pushed back but is still in the works.
Capital projects that have been supported by the $1 billion raised to date include an advanced surgical pavilion at North Shore University Hospital and a center for women and newborns at Staten Island University Hospital.
The endowment gifts have so far supported 13 professorships and chairs and $8.9 million in full and partial scholarships for 204 students at the Zucker School of Medicine.
Northwell operates 21 hospitals and 850 outpatient facilities in the city and Westchester County and on Long Island. —Maya Kaufman
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, which is part of the RWJBarnabas Health system, broke ground this week on a $225 million cancer center on its campus in Livingston.
The outpatient facility will span 137,000 square feet across five stories. It is scheduled for completion in 2025.
The cancer center will offer medical, surgical and radiation oncology services alongside support services, such as a wig and prosthetic studio. Building features will include treatment rooms for extended stays, private infusion rooms and a garden terrace.
Through a partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the center will offer access to immunotherapy, blood and marrow transplantation, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy and clinical trials involving advanced treatment options.
The facility was made possible by a $100 million gift to the medical center last year from billionaire hedge funder Leon Cooperman and his wife, Toby, the medical center said in a news release.
Dr. Russell Langan, the medical center’s chief of surgical oncology and hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, said the access to multidisciplinary care under one roof would lead to improved clinical outcomes.
"When you have clinicians together under one roof to meet regularly and collaborate, along with integrated services, you are providing peace of mind, greater convenience and a better experience for the patient,” he said in a statement.
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, formerly known as Saint Barnabas Medical Center, operates 597 beds. —M.K.
Englewood Health has opened a 73,000-square-foot comprehensive outpatient center at 2 Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, the health system announced Wednesday.
Information technology firm ZT Systems contributed to the project with a $4 million gift; overall, the project costs north of $20 million, said Warren Geller, Englewood’s chief executive officer. ZT Systems’ gift represents the health system’s largest corporate gift to date.
The 3-story center will offer urgent care and primary care services; a diabetes care center with podiatry and endocrinology services; an imaging center; a breast center, which will perform biopsies; a maternal fetal medicine center; a cardiac imaging center; and space to treat all other medical and surgical subspecialties. The second floor will be home to hematology and oncology services. The imaging center, which the health system said was borne out of increased need for imaging services in north Jersey, will open Oct. 3.
Englewood decided to open the center in Jersey City because of its large patient following—and large number of in-network physicians practicing—in the neighborhood, Geller added. The facility aims to offer patients quality affordable health care.
The center will be able to treat thousands of patients per month, Geller said.
Englewood Health is one of New Jersey’s biggest health systems and is expected to surpass $1 billion in revenue this year. It operates outpatient facilities in six New Jersey counties, including eight hospital outpatient department facilities, and treats more than 18,000 inpatient cases each year. The system delivers more than 3,000 babies annually. –J.N.
COUNSELING SERVICES: The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has renewed its nearly $500,000 contract with New Horizon Counseling Center Inc in Ozone Park to provide non-Medicaid care coordination and health care coordination to New Yorkers with mental illnesses. The contract will run through fiscal 2023. New Horizon is licensed by the state Office of Mental Health, Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to provide individual and group counseling and psychotherapy.
SHORTAGE SOLUTIONS: Many health care systems have started relying more heavily on apprenticeship programs to mitigate staffing shortages, Modern Healthcare reports. Apprenticeship programs provide students with untraditional training that can be an attractive alternative to medical school. The Medical Group Management Association surveyed 675 medical practices about staffing issues this past spring and nearly half replied that medical assistants, which are what apprenticeships would prepare students for, are the most difficult positions to recruit for.
NEW WEBSITE: The state Department of Health has launched a new website to connect New Yorkers to resources for managing long Covid-19 as of Wednesday. The site will help people understand what long Covid is, the symptoms to watch out for, and how to access care from providers. Access the long Covid site here.
WHO'S NEWS: The "Who's News" portion of "At a Glance" is available online at this link and in the Health Pulse newsletter. "Who's News" is a daily update of career transitions in the local health care industry. For more information on submitting a listing, reach out to Debora Stein: [email protected] .
CONTACT US: Have a tip about news happening in the local health care industry? Want to provide feedback about our coverage? Contact the Health Pulse team at [email protected]
Staying current is easy with Crain's news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge. Click below to see everything we have to offer.
Don't miss the chance to get the biggest news first! Stay connected to New York business news in print and online
Crain’s New York Business is the trusted voice of the New York business community—connecting businesses across the five boroughs by providing analysis and opinion on how to navigate New York’s complex business and political landscape.
685 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 (212) 210-0100