New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the opening of the City’s first Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. 

The 104-bed unit will serve people in custody with complex medical needs by transferring the most clinically vulnerable detainees from Rikers Island into a therapeutic setting with closer access to specialty care. It is the first of three planned Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units across the city. 

It will serve patients with serious conditions such as cancer and congestive heart failure who do not require hospitalization but face heightened risks in a traditional jail setting. 

Located on the Bellevue hospital campus, the unit provides direct access to a full range of specialty services, including oncology, cardiology and neurology. Correctional Health Services (CHS) clinicians will deliver care on-site, with enhanced monitoring and support in a therapeutic environment designed to improve health outcomes. 

CHS will remain the primary provider of clinical care, working in close coordination with Bellevue specialists. The NYC Department of Correction (DOC) will provide security, custody management, programming and other services. The unit meets all standards set by the NYC Board of Correction and the New York State Commission of Correction. 

The Mamdani Administration will also open additional Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units at NYC Health+ Hospitals/Woodhull and North Central Bronx (NCB), with 144 and 92 beds, respectively. Those sites will primarily serve CHS patients with significant mental health needs, further expanding access to care.