According to a screening done earlier this year, children in Syracuse (CNY) with mental problems are going through
difficulties in getting sufficient mental health services. Because the number of staff and clinics is not enough, sometimes children in need of mental help have to wait for more than 70 days.
Parents and families naturally have to suffer the situation together. On a public hearing of the New York Office of Mental Health of
2006-2010 Statewide Comprehensive Plan for Mental Health Services, Mary Jane O'Connor testified of her child's
urgent need of mental care. She and her daughter went through difficulty when the Four Winds Hospital closed
suddenly, and she had to have her girl treated in Rochester because there are not enough beds in Syracuse.
Even so, the former Four Winds hospital site has been purchased by SUNY Upstate Medical University, when Michael F.
Modzelewski, a Syracuse native and Florida businessman had also made a purchase offer earlier to build a mental health center on the site and help some youths being referred to out-of-town facilities.
While Upstate plans to use part of the building as a child-care center, it does not offer mental care for children, and Modzelewski is said to be looking at another site in the area for his proposed center.
1 comment:
I think this is a good story and a very important issue. You set the stage well with what the problems are and explain what some are trying to do about it. The first link to the article on Syracuse.com brings up a blank page. The link to O'Connor's testimony was necessary and effective. You may also want to link to the state's comprehensive plan. Also, it seems that Upstate's decision regarding the hospital is a bit controversial. Has anyone commented on it in a way that you could include as a quote?
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