Judge Orders Improvements In Tracking, Caring For New York’s Severely Mentally Ill Living In Supported Housing
A ProPublica and Frontline investigation about gaps in oversight for patients living outside institutions prompted U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis to order a report and make recommendations for improving care. At least six had died and others struggled to live on their own. Mental health news is from California and Massachusetts, as well.
ProPublica:
Judge Orders Expanded Oversight For Mentally Ill New Yorkers In Supported Housing
Not enough people are covered by an oversight system meant to safeguard residents of a New York housing program for people with mental illness, a federal judge found this week, after reviewing a report commissioned in response to a ProPublica and Frontline investigation. Since January 2014, more than 750 people with severe mental illness have moved out of troubled New York City adult group homes and into subsidized apartments under a federal court order. The idea was to give them a chance to live outside institutions, with services coming to them as needed through a program called supported housing. (Sapien, 7/12)
Sacramento Bee:
California Mental Health Workers Reject Kaiser Contract Offer
The National Union of Healthcare Workers announced Thursday that 4,000 members of the union had soundly rejected Kaiser Permanente’s contract offer, saying the proposal failed to remedy the long wait times for California patients seeking mental health treatment.Kaiser’s “proposals didn’t offer clinicians meaningful solutions to provide timely, adequate care for patients,” said Clement Papazian, a licensed clinical social worker in Oakland. (Anderson, 7/11)
KQED:
San Francisco’s Universal Mental Health Care Ballot Measure Pushed To March 2020
A controversial ballot measure that would give San Franciscans universal mental health care is being pushed from the November 2019 ballot to the March 2020 ballot to give lawmakers more time to come to an agreement as to how it should be implemented. The measure, dubbed “Mental Health SF”, was announced in May. After the announcement, Mayor London Breed and the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which would be in charge of implementing the program, expressed concern about the high costs of implementation and a lack of input from the city’s health experts. (Wolffe, 7/110
MPR:
Plaintiffs Demand UnitedHealth Beef Up Mental Health Coverage
A federal judge in California has already found in favor of the plaintiffs accusations that UnitedHealth's coverage for behavioral health care is substandard. Now, lawyers expect, the judge will schedule oral arguments before making a final decision about proposed remedies. (Roth, 7/11)
Boston Globe:
Woman Who Allegedly Stabbed EMS In Ambulance Was Questioned By Police About Airport Threats
A 31-year-old woman with mental health issues who allegedly stabbed a Boston EMT seven times inside an ambulance on Wednesday was questioned by law enforcement the day before the attack regarding a hoax bomb threat at multiple airports, an official said. State Police spokesman David Procopio confirmed on Thursday that investigators spoke to Julie Tejeda on Tuesday as part of an ongoing probe into the threat made to airports, including one on Martha’s Vineyard. (Sweeney, Anderson and McDonald, 7/11)
