Hevesi Calls For Reform In Mental Health Service

Profoundly affected by his visit to a Queens based outreach program for the mentally ill, Senator Daniel R. Hevesi (D-Central Queens), in writing to the City and State Commissioners of Mental Health, spoke about the condition of the mental health delivery system.
In his correspondence with City Commissioner Neal Cohen and State Commissioner James Stone, Hevesi recounted his impressions after spending time with the members of the Visiting Nurse Service’s Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team, which is based in Far Rockaway. ACT Teams are comprised of mental health professionals who provide a full range of services to clients in their home environments, rather than having clients come to an office setting. "This program provides a vital service to those mentally ill individuals who are resistant to traditional treatment options," Hevesi said. "It is inconceivable that after the tragedies involving Andrew Goldstein and Gary Busch, we are not taking sufficient proactive steps to ensure that patients, who are at-risk of failing to take their medications and harming themselves or others, remain on their treatment regiments. It is simply a matter of common sense that the most effective method of treatment is community based, where we can ensure a level of continued care. How then can a borough with almost two million people have only one ACT team?" Hevesi questioned.
Hevesi, who is a member of the Senate’s Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee, saw firsthand that comprehensive community based services are the most effective method of ensuring that those who suffer from mental illness receive the attention they need. Indeed, a report about to be released by the State Commission on the Quality of Care, which monitors the State’s mental health system, is highly critical of the fact that it cost nearly $100,000 to treat Goldstein through repeated short-term hospital stays, the failure of which resulted in the death of Kendra Webdale. The Commission noted that for an estimated $25,310 a year, Goldstein could have lived in supervised, state-financed housing with day services, clinic visits and intensive care management. "While it is unclear if these alternative services would have saved the life of this young woman, the way the State currently treats its mentally ill indirectly played a role in her death," Hevesi acknowledged.
Widely hailed was the Legislature’s adoption of Kendra’s Law, which provides involuntary outpatient commitment for those mentally ill individuals who refuse to follow prescribed medications or comply with treatment plans. Senator Hevesi, who voted for passage of the Law, said that "while I believe that the public’s safety is our paramount concern, we should not be lulled into a false sense of security. This new law falls quite short of addressing the severe shortage of community-based services and programs for the mentally ill. We must not be penny-wise and pound foolish. In 1993, the State made a commitment to community reinvestment for mental health programs and services. Unfortunately, under the current State Administration, we have witnessed drastic cuts in services and funding for the mentally ill. The money saved from the closing of State psychiatric hospitals and beds should be reinvested and used for increased community based programs and housing," Hevesi emphasized.
Hevesi said "for both humanitarian reasons and for basic cost-effectiveness, it makes sense to invest in increased outreach for other community-based services for the mentally ill."