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Trinitas Regional Medical Center officially unveiled The Healthcare Foundation of NJ Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities during a July 13 ribbon cutting. 

Located on Trinitas’ New Point campus in Elizabeth, the new facility expands the health care provider’s inpatient behavioral health services for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental disorders. 

The center increases Trinitas’ inpatient capacity from 10 beds to 22, according to a July 17 announcement. The team at the facility cares for patients who may need acute psychiatric hospitalization, medication management, crisis stabilization, psychiatric assessment, or behavioral assessment and planning.  

According to Autism New Jersey, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Jersey now has the third highest rate of the spectrum disorder in the United States, affecting 1 in 34 children, or 2.9% of 8-year-olds. Rutgers also released a study this year, finding that, between 2000 and 2016, cases of autism spectrum disorder in the New York-New Jersey metro region increased by as much as 500%. 

“The number of individuals with autism and other disabilities has grown across the state, and over the last few years, wait times have doubled and patients in need of care are being held up in emergency rooms or screening centers for days while waiting to be admitted to appropriate inpatient services,” Trinitas President and CEO Nancy DiLiegro said in a statement. 

The new center was born out of the need to serve these individuals in “an environment that was comfortable, inclusive and suited for those with disabilities,” one that is not loud or hectic, DiLiegro added. 

The facility was made possible by $3.3 million raised by the Trinitas Foundation, the Healthcare Foundation of NJ, individual donors and corporations. 

Michael Schmidt, CEO and executive director of The Healthcare Foundation of NJ, said his organization was proud to provide a $1 million “critical seed grant” for the center. 

“Given the tremendous need in our community, these additional beds and the accompanying services will provide individuals and families with the compassionate care that some of the most vulnerable members in our community deserve.”

Established in 2000, Trinitas Regional Medical Center is an RWJBarnabas Health facility.