Legislative leaders have agreed to a state budget framework that loosens the legal standard for involuntary commitment of the mentally ill — a major victory for Gov. Kathy Hochul and a sign that political winds on the issue are shifting to the center.
The exact language has not yet been released, but it will specify that individuals can be involuntarily committed if they are at “substantial risk of physical harm due to the inability to meet their basic needs,” Hochul’s general counsel Brian Mahanna told reporters last week.
The move effectively codifies 2022 guidance from the state Office of Mental Health, saying that individuals “who appear to be mentally ill and who display an inability to meet basic living needs” could be taken against their will to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
It will be paired with several related reforms, including more stringent hospital discharge requirements and state-funded pilot programs dispatching unarmed first responders to mental health emergencies, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, who were granted anonymity to share details of the deal.
The spending plan will also use $160 million to open 100 more inpatient psychiatric beds in New York City for individuals involved with the criminal justice system, Hochul said.
Other investments include $16.5 million to bolster the court-ordered mental health treatment apparatus under Kendra’s Law and an additional $2 million for the Office of Mental Health’s workforce.
The shifting approach remains contentious, though.
“The governor sees her proposal as a win, but I think, frankly, too many New Yorkers will end up losing,” Assembly Mental Health Chair Jo Anne Simon told POLITICO. “I don’t like the idea of compromise when that means that we’re doing something that I feel is fundamentally flawed. On the other hand, sometimes people need to see that it’s fundamentally flawed.”
IN OTHER NEWS:
— Members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East voted by a resounding two-to-one margin to oust their longtime president, George Gresham, in the union’s first competitive leadership race in decades, POLITICO Pro reported.
Gresham lost to challenger Yvonne Armstrong, who leads the union’s long-term care division. Gresham’s second-in-command, secretary-treasurer Milly Silva, will be succeeded by Veronica Turner-Biggs, who oversees the union’s division of downstate hospitals and health systems.
— Nursing simulation centers will open on the campuses of the University at Buffalo, SUNY Canton and Stony Brook University, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday. The centers will facilitate enrollment increases by providing nursing students with hands-on clinical training, leveraging a 2023 state law that permits up to one-third of clinical training to be completed through high-quality simulation experiences.
“By investing in nurses of the future, we’re investing in the talent of aspiring professionals across our state and in the health care workforce we all rely on,” Hochul said in a statement. “The SUNY nursing simulation centers will make extraordinary strides toward preparing students and strengthening the pipeline of excellence in our SUNY system and beyond.”
Adding on to the state’s investment, SUNY is slated to provide scholarships for two cohorts of 35 SUNY students pursuing a degree in the health care industry, SUNY officials revealed to POLITICO Monday. The scholarship will cover up to $25,000 per academic year, which includes up to $20,000 for tuition and fees and a $5,000 stipend for students enrolled in a qualifying master’s nursing degree program.
“With a projected shortage of 40,000 registered nurses in New York State within the next five years, we must take bold steps to address this problem,” SUNY Chancellor John King said in a statement. “That is why SUNY is stepping up with this innovative scholarship program that will invest in the next generation of nursing educators and thereby help expand and strengthen the healthcare workforce.”
ON THE AGENDA:
— Monday at 9 a.m. NYC Health + Hospitals’ board of directors hosts a meeting of the medical & professional affairs and information technology committee, followed by a meeting of the capital committee.
— Monday at 12 p.m. the Emergency Medical Services for Children Advisory Council will meet.
— Wednesday at 10 a.m. the Senate Mental Health Committee will meet.
— Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. the state Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators will meet.
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