Sayville Project History

The Sayville Project is one of two projects sponsored by the School of Social Welfare of Stony Brook University. Founded in the late 1970’s, the Sayville Project has provided care management services to persons in the greater Sayville and central Suffolk communities of Long Island. Since its inception, the Sayville Project has worked closely with local communities (and community organizations) to address the needs of individuals with serious mental illnesses, to advocate for needed services and to be a voice for change. In 2013, the Sayville Project has collaborated with Hudson River HealthCare (now Sun River Health) as a downstream Care Management partner in the New York State Medicaid Health Home Care Management Initiative. Providing community based care management and care coordination services to over 500 persons per year, the Sayville Project has focused its work on serving adults with chronic physical and behavioral health conditions and addressing the social determinants of health.

Throughout its work, the Sayville Project has worked closely with local community groups and leaders to address the health disparities of the poor and those living with behavioral health issues.

The Sayville Project has received funding from the Suffolk County Department of Community Mental Hygiene, the New York State Department of Mental Health, the New York State Office of Mental Health, local groups and foundations (Robert Wood Johnson, etc.). Currently working under the auspices of the NYS Department of Health and NYS Office of Mental Health and the Suffolk County Department of Community Mental Hygiene, the Sayville Project works in collaboration with Managed Care Organizations to provide care management to their Medicaid enrollees with chronic physical and mental health conditions. As an organization of the School of Social Welfare and the Health Sciences Center of Stony Brook Medicine, the Sayville Project works collaboratively with all of the Stony Brook entities (and in specific Stony Brook and Eastern LI Hospital, primary care and specialty care centers). In addition, the Sayville Project has developed collaborative relationships with health, behavioral health, housing and social service agencies and organizations that serve the Medicaid recipient.

As an entity of the School of Social Welfare, the Sayville Project is a primary fieldwork site for students from the School of Social Welfare (SSW), offering care management and community health internships for both undergraduate and graduate level students. For the last four years, the Sayville Project has participated in the SSW and School of Nursing HRSA integrative health grant providing needed access to services to marginalized and disadvantaged populations.