How Rikers Island Became New York’s Largest Mental Institution

One night in fall 2015, an 18-year-old woman was standing on a subway platform in the Bronx when a homeless man named James Dolo came up from behind and used both hands to push her onto the tracks, the police said, injuring her. Jailed on an attempted murder charge, Mr. Dolo, then 38, soon was seated in front of a court evaluator for a review of his competency to stand trial. Mr. Dolo smelled of urine, the evaluator noted, had described a history of psychiatric hospitalizations and did not seem to understand the gravity of what he was accused of doing. The evaluator marked him down as unfit, citing schizophrenia, and a judge ordered Mr. Dolo committed to a state forensic psychiatric hospital — a secure facility for incarcerated people — to be restored to mental competency. He spent nearly two years there before he was shuttled to a public hospital in Manhattan, and then to the city jails on Rikers Island, and then to the forensic hospital again. Read more here.

Related: Pew - For Too Many With Mental Illness, Incarceration is the Default

How Opioid Overdoses in Public Restrooms Led an Electrician to Invent 'Safe Bathrooms'

First, a light starts to flash. Then a high-pitched siren starts to blare. Then come the sounds of nearby doors being flung open, and the frantic footsteps of doctors and nurses rushing toward a restroom at the end of a hallway. They’re in a hurry for good reason. These distress signals have a specific meaning: Somebody in the bathroom is overdosing. Thankfully, it’s a false alarm. But at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, a clinic that caters to Boston’s unhoused population in the heart of the city’s infamous “methadone mile,” bathroom overdoses are a near-daily occurrence. They happen so frequently, in fact, that the clinic has outfitted its restrooms with motion-sensor systems designed specifically for this purpose: to detect when people in bathrooms stop moving, allowing clinic staff to intervene before it’s too late. Read more here.

Alarming Suicide Rate Among Construction Workers Catches New York State's Attention

Every 12 minutes, a person working in construction dies, not as a result of an accident on the job, but by suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This isn’t something that centered in New York City or Buffalo,” said Bridget O’Hanlon of the state’s Office of General Services’ Division of Design and Construction. “It’s something that’s across the state and country.” Some are calling it an epidemic, with the CDC reporting the suicide rate among men working in the field is about four times high than the general public. Experts say there are a number of contributing factors. Read more here.

Mental Hospitals Warehoused the Sick. Congress Wants to Let Them Try Again.

The linked crises of drug addiction and homelessness have Washington on the verge of embracing a health care provider it once repudiated: the mental hospital. Nearly 60 years after Congress barred Medicaid from treating people in what were then derided as insane asylums, lawmakers are on the verge of reversing course. The reasons: Community-based care championed since the 1960s hasn’t stopped record overdoses — and constituents have had it with the brazen drug use and tent encampments in their cities. Some public health advocates agree that times have changed and the magnitude of the crises justifies lifting the rule. Read more here.

Young Men Face High Risk for Gambling Addiction as Sports Betting Surges: Experts

The recent rollout of legalized sports betting across 36 states has surged the gambling industry — but experts say it’s coming at the cost of mental health in young men. In particular, easy access to online betting, most popular with sportsbooks — which often incentivize new customers with credits and first-bet loss forgiveness as a lure — has a grasp on the Gen Z crowd. A 2023 prevalence report of gambling in New Jersey from Rutgers University found that a third of bettors 18 to 24 exclusively wagered online rather than being inside a casino or in-person facility. That statistic is five times higher than a prior 2017 report for the school and more than any other age group. Read more here.

Mental Health Courts Can Struggle to Fulfill Decades-Old Promise

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — In early December, Donald Brown stood nervously in the Hall County Courthouse, concerned he’d be sent back to jail. The 55-year-old struggles with depression, addiction, and suicidal thoughts. He worried a judge would terminate him from a special diversion program meant to keep people with mental illness from being incarcerated. He was failing to keep up with the program’s onerous work and community service requirements. Last year, Brown threatened to take his life with a gun and his family called 911 seeking help, he said. The police arrived, and Brown was arrested and charged with a felony of firearm possession. After months in jail, Brown was offered access to the Health Empowerment Linkage and Possibilities, or HELP, Court. If he pleaded guilty, he’d be connected to services and avoid prison time. But if he didn’t complete the program, he’d possibly face incarceration. Read more here.

The Patient Engagement Imperative

Patient engagement, motivating consumers to choose to participate in their own care, was top of mind in the health and human service field this year if the number of professional meetings focused on the topic is any indication. The reason for that focus is clear. Without patient engagement, many investments in evidence-based practices, new workflow processes, and new technologies have limited impact. A meta-analysis of patient engagement outcomes found four main areas of impact for patient engagement programs—health outcomes, patient adherence, consumer self-direction, and financial returns. Interestingly, there are studies on the impact of patient engagement on the three areas of impact, formal studies of the financial returns of investments in patient engagement are more limited. Read more here.

CAYUGA: Opioid Treatment Program in Auburn is filling a gap

DUTCHESS: Dutchess County announces agency partner grants

ERIE: UB, Oishei Children's Hospital part of $18.8 million study on maternal health inequities

JEFFERSON: Jefferson County may settle 2022 county jail lawsuit

NYC: NYC Health + Hospitals Partners with the Institute for Human Identity to Deliver Advanced Training in LGBTQ+-Affirming Therapy

NYC: New York City’s mental health clubhouses could be in jeopardy

ORLEANS: Orleans accepts $120K in opioid settlement funds and contracts with UConnect Care

OSWEGO: Oswego Health Promotes Daniel McManus to Therapy Supervisor

SARATOGA: Local school avoids potential overdose with Narcan training 

TOMPKINS: Tompkins County Explores Initiatives to Address Homelessness

WESTCHESTER: Westchester County emergency teams to use new green lights for behavioral health response

Treating Opioid Disorder without Meds More Harmful Than No Treatment At All

In cases of opioid use disorder, short-term medically managed withdrawal (commonly known as detox) and long-term rehabilitation treatments that don’t incorporate continued use of buprenorphine or methadone are no more effective at preventing overdose deaths than no treatment at all, a new Yale-led study reveals. The findings, the researchers say, emphasize the importance of ongoing medication treatment for opioid use disorder and should inform how opioid settlement funds earmarked for addressing the crisis are spent. The study was published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Read more here.

Related: Only 18% of Medicare Enrollees with Opioid Use Disorder Received MAT in 2022

How Fentanyl Has Changed Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Integrated Managed Care Organizations Fail to Outperform Carve-Outs in Behavioral Health Access

Access to and utilization of services was not better at integrated managed care organizations – Medicaid plans that do not carve out behavioral health services – compared to other models. That’s according to a new study published in JAMA, which analyzed claims-based measures of utilization, health-related outcomes, rates of arrests, employment and homelessness. Historically, Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) have carved out behavioral health services. This meant patients would get behavioral health benefits coverage through a different plan. However, in recent years, states have pushed to integrate behavioral and physical health coverage. Read more here.

Wearable Biosensor Predicts Aggression Among Inpatients with Autism

The Camden Coalition Care Management Program Improved Intermediate Care Coordination: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Americans on Medicare now get better access to mental health care. Here's how

Baltimore’s new approach to police training looks at the effects of trauma, importance of empathy

An Overdose Antidote Becomes a Tricky Issue at Some Nightclubs

NCSC Judges' Guide to Mental Health Diversion

First-of-Its-Kind Mental Health Center Debuts in Miami

UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS

Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health Through Collaborative Care: A Roadmap from North Carolina

January 10, 1 - 2 pm, Manatt Health

Person-Centered Service Planning in HCBS: Requirements and Best Practices

January 10, 2 - 3:30 pm, CMS

Clinical Interventions for Harm Reduction Patients

January 10, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC

Building a Behavioral Health Continuum of Care: The Role of Elected Officials and I/DD Directors

January 11, 2 - 3 pm, NACo

Care Coordination for Improved Population Behavioral Health

January 16, 1 - 2 pm, NACo

Introduction to BJA’s Access and Recovery PRSS Training and Technical Assistance Center

January 18, 2 - 3 pm, COSSUP

Transforming Communities: County-Level Solutions for Mental Health and System Challenges

January 22, 2 -3 pm, NACo

GRANTS/FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

HRSA Health Workforce

NYS Grants Gateway

NY Health Foundation

OASAS Procurements

OMH Procurements

OPWDD Procurements

Rural Health Information Hub - New York

SAMHSA Grants Dashboard

CLMHD CALENDAR

JANUARY

LGU Clinic Operators Meeting

January 9: 10 - 11 am

Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting

January 11: 11 am - 12 pm

Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting

January 11: 1 - 2:30 pm

Mental Health Committee Meeting

January 11: 3 - 4 pm

Children & Families Committee Meeting

January 16: 11:30 am - 1 pm

Membership Call

January 17: 9 - 10:30 am

Deputy DCS Call

January 23: 10 - 11 am

FEBRUARY

Quarterly LGU Billing Staff Call

February 6: 11 am - 12 pm

Executive Committee Meeting

February 7: 8 - 9 am

LGU Clinic Operators Meeting

February 13: 10 - 11 am

Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting

February 8: 11 am - 12 pm

Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting

February 8: 1 - 2:30 pm

Mental Health Committee Meeting

February 8: 3 - 4 pm

Quarterly AOT Coordinators Call

February 9: 10 - 11:30 am

Children & Families Committee Meeting

February 20: 11:30 am - 1 pm

Membership Call

February 21: 9 - 10:30 am

Deputy DCS Call

February 27: 10 - 11 am

Links to State Guidance and Updates on COVID-19

NYS Coronavirus Vaccination Information