ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1.
CLOSURE OF HAGEDORN HAS PATIENTS' FAMILIES WORRIED
2. BUGS, FILTH, HAZARDS PLAGUE NEARLY HALF OF N.J. BOARDING HOMES
3. BIG SHIFTS LIE AHEAD FOR N.J. MEDICAID
4. COURT WON’T BAR FORCED MEDICATION OF TUCSON SUSPECT
5. HACKENSACK SEEKS MORE INFO ON MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
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CLOSURE OF HAGEDORN HAS PATIENTS' FAMILIES WORRIED
The Sen. Garrett W. Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital in Hunterdon County is closing. In a controversial decision that became final when he signed the state budget, Gov. Chris Christie will close the hospital to save $9 million and reduce New Jersey’s over-reliance on institutions. State officials say they’re ready to move Hagedorn patients to proper settings but a group of relatives say the state is not prepared to move very sick patients into the community in the next 11 months. They suspect officials are overestimating how many patients will be stable enough to live outside a psychiatric hospital.
Read the full report:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/hagedorn_psychiatric_hospital.html
Watch video:
http://video-embed.nj.com/services/player/bcpid619329501001?bctid=1030867315001
Read a family member’s blog:
http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2011/07/nj_closure_of_hagedorn_psychia.html
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BUGS, FILTH, HAZARDS PLAGUE NEARLY HALF OF N.J. BOARDING HOMES
Nearly half the boarding homes that house some of New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents — including the elderly and the mentally ill — were cited for being insect-infested, dirty or unsafe over the past two years, a Star-Ledger review of state inspection records has found. Many of the 2,800 people in the 125 "class c" boarding homes suffer from illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. While not nursing homes, these boarding homes provide an element of medical supervision. The boarding homes singled out by inspectors showed a pattern of grim conditions posing safety and health risks.
Read the Star Ledger report:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/bugs_filth_hazards_plague_near.html
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BIG SHIFTS LIE AHEAD FOR N.J. MEDICAID
Elderly and disabled Medicaid patients and the people who care for them are facing some of the biggest changes in the history of the government insurance program as a result of the new state budget. Nearly all must choose a Medicaid HMO quickly, a shift in the way their health care has been managed that is causing uncertainty and anxiety. The HMOs will manage prescription drug coverage for their members, with special provisions having been made for anti-convulsants and certain psychiatric medications to assure continuity for the patients.
Read the Bergen Record report:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/125703858_Big_shifts_lie_ahead_for_N_J__Medicaid.html
Learn more from the department of Human services:
http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dmahs/home/carve.html
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COURT WON’T BAR FORCED MEDICATION OF TUCSON SUSPECT
A federal appeals court has refused to bar prison officials from forcibly administering a psychotropic drug to Jared L. Loughner, the suspect in a shooting rampage here that left six people dead. Judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday night denied an emergency motion on the medication from defense lawyers.
Federal prosecutors said in a filing earlier Friday that Mr. Loughner should remain medicated because he may be a danger to himself and because his mental and physical conditions were rapidly deteriorating.
Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/us/24loughner.html
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HACKENSACK SEEKS MORE INFO ON MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
A self-help center for people with mental health issues trying to relocate to Essex Street must submit a new parking plan and detailed floor plan to the Planning Board for its next meeting. Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey is seeking approval to move its self-help center on Main Street to a three-story brick building at 1 Essex St. The center in Hackensack serves about 30 people on a daily basis, who mostly walk or take public transportation to the site.
Joseph Campagna, who owns 33 Essex St., is against the move and through his questions told board members that the self-help center’s clients are known to loiter, panhandle, drink and smoke along Main and Essex streets. He also questioned the safety of having people with mental illness in a building close to two early childhood education centers.
Read more:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/071411_Hackensack_seeks_more_info_in_relocation_of_self-help_center.html
