ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. ANCORA CEO OUT AFTER PATIENT SUICIDE
2. GREYSTONE OPENING DELAYED AGAIN
3. CONTRACTS AWARDED TO DIVERT PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
FROM JAIL
4. DISABILITY CASES LAST LONGER AS BACKLOG RISES
5. POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION LAW CALLED A DISAPPOINTMENT
6. VITALE HOPES TO BAN SMOKING AT STATE PSYCHIATRIC FACILITIES
7. AFRICAN AMERICANS COMBAT 'STIGMA'
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ANCORA CEO OUT AFTER PATIENT SUICIDE
The chief executive officer at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital
was reassigned yesterday, after a recently escaped patient
killed himself despite being under round-the-clock supervision,
according to two state officials with direct knowledge of
the case. The suicide is the latest in a string of crimes
and safety lapses at the sprawling Camden County institution
since July 2006. Ancora is the newest and largest of the
state's remaining five mental hospitals.
See the full story:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1197351548141800.xml&coll=1
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GREYSTONE OPENING DELAYED AGAIN
Patients will not likely move into the new Greystone Park
Psychiatric Hospital until mid-winter, prevented from entering
their new $170 million state-of-the-art home by last-minute
construction delays, state officials said. While an official
opening ceremony took place a month ago, a host of construction
punch list issues are still being resolved, holding up approval
of a certificate of occupancy.
Read the Star Ledger report:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/morris/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1196833927296950.xml&coll=1
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DISABILITY CASES LAST LONGER AS BACKLOG RISES
Steadily lengthening delays in the resolution of Social
Security disability claims have left hundreds of thousands
of people in a kind of purgatory, now waiting as long as
three years for a decision. The disability process is complex,
and the standard for approval has, from the inception of
the program been intentionally strict to prevent malingering
and drains on the treasury. But it is also inevitably subjective
in some cases, like those involving mental illness.
Read the New York Times report (free to register):
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/us/10disability.html?hp
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CONTRACTS AWARDED TO DIVERT PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS FROM
JAIL
The Department of Human Services announced it has awarded
$885,000 to four agencies in four counties to divert people
with mental illness at risk of being incarcerated into treatment
services rather than jail.
“There are many times when proper intervention and
treatment are much more appropriate than jail for someone
with mental illness,” Commissioner Velez said. “We
also want to help people get the services they need that
might prevent them from participating in illegal behavior.”
Read the Department of Human Services press release:
http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/Press-2007/contracts.html
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POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION LAW CALLED A DISAPPOINTMENT
Since Gov. Jon Corzine signed the landmark postpartum depression
law 20 months ago, the state has spent $9 million on the
program: half on TV and radio ads and brochures encouraging
women to ask for help, and half on training more than 6,000
medical professionals in how to identify the illness. But
health experts and women using the hotline say the law has
fallen short: Women are seeking help, but when they do,
state and medical professionals often are not prepared to
assist them.
Read Susan Livio’s report:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1197179616259180.xml&coll=1
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VITALE HOPES TO BAN SMOKING AT STATE PSYCHIATRIC FACILITIES
Sen. Joseph F. Vitale spoke about key legislation that
he will soon introduce to call upon the State Department
of Human Services (DHS) to develop a smoking cessation pilot
program, with eventual goal of banning smoking at all five
of New Jersey’s State-run psychiatric hospitals.
“Smoking kills, and when it comes to patients in psychiatric
facilities, the fatality rates are disproportionately higher,”
said Vitale, “According to DHS statistics, the lifespan
of a severely mentally ill person is 20-25 years shorter
than that of a non-mentally ill person”.
Read more:
http://www.new-jersey.ws/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=20640
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AFRICAN AMERICANS COMBAT 'STIGMA'
A willingness to show support was the theme throughout
a two-day summit that addressed an often-hidden and still-taboo
topic within the African American community: mental illness
and the dangers of not treating it.
"There is not a community not impacted by the stigma,"
PA State Sen. Vincent Hughes Hughes said, "but it's
much more of an acute issue and problem within the African
American community”. "Those walls prevent a lot
of people from getting help."
Read more:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20071209_African_Americans_combat_a_stigma.html
