New York State Should Find Better Way To Reduce Costs in Mental Health System, Editorial Says

New York Gov. George Pataki's (R) administration has "failed miserably" in its "shameful efforts to get out of the mental health business," according to a New York Times editorial. The state has released "thousands" of patients from psychiatric hospitals over the last decade without "plans for their continued treatment or follow-up with state workers," the editorial states. In addition, "hundreds ... are being locked" in special nursing home units "without the chance to contest their confinement." The editorial continues that Pataki's explanation that the units were locked to keep intruders out, rather than to keep the patients in, "doesn't pass muster," adding, "Pataki can't hide from responsibility for these units, which were established on his watch." Also, there are "appalling conditions" in some of the state's privately run adult homes, the editorial states, adding that although a "less costly mental health system is an admirable goal," it can only be possible if "made compatible with developing a more humane system in which patients receive the care and support they need to become independent and self-sufficient." The editorial concludes, "Pataki and members of his administration have to figure out how to do both" (New York Times, 10/9).