CSEA rips Cuomo’s Centers of Excellence plan Vague outline leaves people at risk, amounts to another unfunded mandate The community surrounding the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center is up in arms about the governor’s proposal to close the center’s adult and children’s inpatient services and move them to Utica and Syracuse. A community task force begun by Ogdensburg Mayor William Nelson continues to grow and keep active. Their efforts to oppose the facility closure have gained a great deal of media exposure, and they have increased visibility for their campaign by wearing T-shirts supplied by the CSEA St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center Local as well as lawn signs. The union is working with the task force to support their efforts to fight the closure. CSEA St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center Local President Ronnie Freeman Jr. said local members are concerned with the lack of specifics in the governor’s plan and how they could be uprooted from their community. “Obviously everything is just so up in the air right now. It seems like Governor Cuomo is just winging it,” he said. “Our members are concerned about having to uproot their families. I think if we were to lose inpatient services in our area, it would be highly detrimental to the entire North Country. It’s unacceptable for people to be told they have to drive halfway down the state to see their child.” Before the state’s plan was even announced, State Sen. Patty Ritchie created a postcard campaign and a website to fight for the facility’s future. The site also has an online petition that gathered thousands of signatures. The bottom line, say most people involved, is that rural St. Lawrence County houses the only state mental health inpatient facility north of the Thruway, and it would be an extreme hardship for families of those seeking treatment for mental illness to travel to Utica or Syracuse, each more than two hours away, to visit their loved ones and participate in their treatment. Southern Tier — Greater Binghamton Health Center and Elmira Psychiatric Center The Southern Tier already has a “Rural Center of Excellence,” according to those involved in providing mental health care. It’s the combination of the two psychiatric centers in Binghamton and Elmira, serving people living in 15 counties surrounding the two cities. Moving their care to unspecified “community hubs” might cause some to fall through the cracks and not receive treatment. State Sen. Tom Libous immediately came out in opposition to the governor’s plan, starting an online petition that has generated thousands of signatures. State Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo recently met with CSEA representatives and is working with Libous and others in the community to create a localized task force to build opposition to the plan. Others in the community have created a Facebook page and another petition to stop the center’s closure. CSEA and PEF members recently set up a table at the local Spiedie Fest, gathering more than 2,900 signatures opposed to the governor’s plan. “When (the state Office of Mental Health) came through the state seeking people’s input prior to announcing this plan, it was obvious that they weren’t really listening,” said CSEA Greater Binghamton Health Center Local President Members of the CSEA City of Ogdensburg Department of Public Works Unit wore T-shirts in solidarity for their brothers and sisters at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo is closing. CSEA is gearing up for a major fight against the closings without clear alternative plans. Jon Englert. “People don’t want or support the governor’s plan to close these facilities and limit mental health services in our local communities.” CSEA Elmira Psychiatric Center Local President Joseph Howard agreed. “There’s no one that I’ve talked to that has expressed support for the governor’s proposal,” he said. Howard added that the confusion surrounding the proposal’s lack of specifics was disconcerting to workers, who are simply trying to provide the best mental health services they can. — Mark M. Kotzin Visit https://cseany.org/helpprotect mental-health-services/ for a complete list of petition websites. See President Donohue’s column, page 4 Editor’s note: CSEA has sharply criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to consolidate 24 state psychiatric centers into 15 as vague, irresponsible and likely to cost local taxpayers. While the administration claims the plan will seek to avoid layoffs, without any detail it is impossible to determine. Additionally, with the consolidation, closures and transfer of key programs like long-term care and children’s services, the plan clearly will limit access and delivery of mental health services in local communities. The vague plan will negatively affect communities across New York, but the impact is particularly harmful in CSEA’s Central Region. CSEA is fighting back through community coalitions and with statewide radio and TV ads showing the consequences of the governor’s irresponsibility. CSEA fighting for youth services St. Lawrence County resident Jamie Weber of Gouverneur is the mother of 17-year-old Alex, who began receiving inpatient services at St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center when he was 7. Weber felt strongly that she needed to do something to counter Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to close inpatient services at SLPC, so she started a petition online at http://tinyurl.com/ saveSLPC that has already gathered more than 5,000 signatures against the proposal. “There are already ridiculously long waiting lists for appointments in out patient facilities in our area. If SLPC is closed, the closest inpatient facility for children’s services will be in Utica, more than two hours away,” Weber said. Syracuse-area families are also concerned because the plan moves children’s services from their community to Utica, nearly an hour away. Long Island youths at a loss As difficult as the St. Lawrence closing is to a rural upstate region, closing the Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center on Long Island leaves of population of millions having to travel to New York City for the closest youth treatment centers. A grassroots community coalition is seeking a better approach, and CSEA is stepping up its efforts. Alex and Jamie Weber September 2013 The Work Force 9
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