ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. TRENTON HAS HIGHEST INCIDENT RATE OF NJ STATE HOSPITALS
2. GREYSTONE PATIENTS BOYCOTT THERAPY SESSIONS, PROTEST NEW RULES
3. MARLBORO TO RECEIVE $3.6 MILLION FOR IMPROVEMENTS
4. GOVERNOR SIGNS LEGISLATION TO ASSIST VETERANS
5. DMHAS PROPOSES TO REDUCE PARTIAL CARE FUNDING AND STAFF
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TRENTON HAS HIGHEST INCIDENT RATE OF NJ STATE HOSPITALS
Given the choice to close either Trenton or Hagedorn, Gov. Chris Christie announced his decision last month to close Hagedorn in June 2012. An analysis by The Express-Times of state hospital data from 2005 through 2010 shows Trenton Psychiatric Hospital recorded the highest rates of violence and patient restraint compared to New Jersey's other four state psychiatric hospitals. In 2010 alone, Trenton Psychiatric had 26 patient-on-patient incidents with major injury, while the other four hospitals had a combined total of eight.
Read the Express Times Story:
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/hunterdon-county/express-times/index.ssf/2011/08/trenton_hospital_records_show.html
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GREYSTONE PATIENTS BOYCOTT THERAPY SESSIONS, PROTEST NEW RULES
Nearly half of the 432 patients at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital have signed a petition or boycotted therapy sessions this month to protest new rules they say further limit their activities and force them to attend programs that don’t help in their recovery, patients and an advocacy groups say. The changes at Greystone led to the petition enumerating 17 complaints, ranging from "neglect of low-functioning patients" to cold food to the medicating of agitated patients instead of seeking "a resolution to the problem."
See the Star Ledger report:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/parsippany_psychiatric_hospita.html
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MARLBORO TO RECEIVE $3.6 MILLION FOR IMPROVEMENTS
Governor Christie has signed into law a piece of legislation that appropriates $3.567 million from the Clean Waters bond fund for sewerage infrastructure improvements at the former Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital. Even though the hospital is closed, the sewerage treatment plant serves the New Hope facility – a new, state-of-the-art, multi-million dollar addiction treatment institution. The plant’s preservation will also ensure the viability of any redevelopment or preservation that may happen at the site.
Read the announcement:
http://bit.ly/nnsiZ5
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GOVERNOR SIGNS LEGISLATION TO ASSIST VETERANS
Governor Chris Christie has signed legislation that creates and enhances assistance tools that provide financial support and peer counseling services through the New Jersey National Guard State Family Readiness Council Fund and the Veteran to Veteran Peer Support Program telephone helpline. An annual appropriation will be designated for the Veteran to Veteran Peer Support Program telephone helpline. The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA), in conjunction with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, currently operate a 24-hour toll free peer support telephone helpline that provides access to a comprehensive mental health provider network of mental health professionals specializing in post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other emotional and psychological disorders.
Read the press releases:
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/news/news/552011/approved/20110819a.html
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DMHAS PROPOSES TO REDUCE PARTIAL CARE FUNDING AND STAFF
Recent reductions in funds available to community mental health programs and to providers of Medicaid/NJ FamilyCare program services require reductions to existing reimbursement rates for partial care services in order to ensure that consumers can receive needed services in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Such reductions necessitate a corresponding reduction in program costs for providers of those services. Partial care programs will not receive sufficient funding to operate under current staffing ratios. Therefore, staffing adjustments must be made to ensure that the same number of consumers receive the needed services.
View the proposed rule:
http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dmhs/info/notices/Rule_proposal_PC_aug_15_2011.pdf
