NorCo Gets $3 M to Help Inmates With Mental Illness

Laura Savenelli

Over the weekend, an inmate at Northampton County's jail named Donnell "Donnie" Davis suffered a cardiac event. He unfortunately passed away. Davis was serving time for acting as an escort to a drug sale. he had been in trouble before.  But Judge Leonard Zito recognized that Davis was suffering from mental illness when he sentenced him in late August. Judge Zito not only ordered a mental evaluation, but even went so far as to agree to Davis' release if that became the ultimate recommendation of Mental Health.

Since posting my story, I've heard from several people in the Easton community who knew and liked Davis. "Poor guy never knew better," said one. "He was a good guy," added another. 

Davis had been concerned that, upon his release, he'd have no place to go. But his story is by no means unusual. Laura Savenelli, Northampton County's re-entry coordinator, outlined the problem to Northampton County Council on Aug 20.

According to Savenelli, 4,200 people were in the jail during 2017. Of that number, 1,268 (30.2%) of them acknowledged that they suffer from mental illness. In the public at large, only 4% will admit to mental health issues.

This year, PrimeCare began doing its own assessment of the mental health of inmates during the second quarter. According to their records, 72% of them either are or were suffering from mental illness. A whopping 23% of them suffer from serious mental illness with current and acute symptoms.

Are we paying to house people who should have been placed at Allentown State Hospital, which closed its doors in 2010?

"The answer to this question is an emphatic yes," says Executive Lamont McClure. Brian Watson, a county Mental Health administrator, adds that "the elimination of State Hospital beds has created a difficult void for individuals in need of a higher level of care." He notes this trend on a state and national level as well.

In 2017, Northampton County joined 425 other counties nationwide in The Stepping Up Initiative, a national program designed to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses who are in jail. At this point, the county is screening and assessing 71% of the inmates.

Savenelli is about to get help. On Aug 21, the day after she addressed County Council, the state Human Services advised the County that it will be getting a little over $3 million to help inmates with mental illness. With this money, the County plans to develop an eight-bed residence for inmates with severe mental illness. No location has been identified, but Watson said he'd like it to be close to both the jail and courthouse. There will also be housing for inmates with less severe mental illness, and a re-entry program to help inmates secure housing. Finally, a Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator will reach out to police and first responders to avoid unnecessary arrests and increase safe interactions with people suffering from mental illness.

Dent Lauds Sweeping Reforms in Mental Healthcare

A disturbing increase in the number of mass shootings evokes two diametrically opposed reactions - buy more guns or make them harder to get. Few pay close attention to those pulling the trigger, beyond determining his or her ethnicity or religious disposition. So it comes as a relief to see that the U.S. House yesterday voted, almost unanimously, for sweeping reforms in what can only be regarded as a broken mental health-care system.

Approximately one in every five 5 U.S. adults — 43.8 million people — experience mental illness in a given year. This is on top of 20 million Americans addicted to alcohol or other drugs.

According to co-sponsor Charlie Dent, the Bill proposes "commonsense reforms, streamlines and improves care, increases the amount of resources available to help those suffering, and continues care for those already receiving help from a mental health professional." Dent states that the "Helping Families in Mental Crisis Act" will give family members and caregivers greater say in the treatment of loved ones.

Other key provisions include:

• A national increase in the number of in-patient beds for those receiving psychiatric treatment;

• An initiative to increase access to mental health treatment for individuals in underserved and rural areas by promoting tele-psychiatry;

• Ensuring a smooth transition from one level of psychiatric care to the next, preventing patients from falling through cracks during the transitions;

• Increasing the growth of successful new treatment methodologies through the establishment of a National Mental Health Policy Laboratory;

• Greater coordination of existing mental health programs through the creation of an Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders within the Department of Health and Human Services;

• Providing comprehensive information to families and individuals regarding what treatments they have the right to access.

Congressman Dent lauded Tom Murphy, the Pittsburgh Congressman who proposed this bill.

Do you think you might suffer from mental illness? If you answer Yes to any of the questions below, you should immediately commit yourself.

1) Do you have or read a blog?

2) Have you ever been a member of a school board?

3) Do you support Hillary Clinton for President?

4) Do you support Donald Trump for President?

Lehigh County Spends $75 MM Per Year On Mental Health

I know everyone in Lehigh County is crazy, but did you know that the County spends $75 million every year on behavioral health services for the mentally ill? That's a lot of straight jackets. It's all pass through money that comes in the form of federal and state subsidies, but it's 1/5 of the budget. Tonight, Commissioners will consider a no-bid contract that will allow Magellan Health Services to continue to provide these health services. What's more, all of their fees have been redacted from public view. As a third-party administrator, Magellan will walk away with about $4.5 million as Executive Matt Croslis fades away.

This is great for Magellan. Nothing like a no-bid contract in the waning days of what is really a caretaker administration. But is it good government?

Commissioner Vic Mazziotti has his doubts. He does not like to see contract provisions redacted from public inspection, despite Magellan's concerns that competitors get to see what it charges. "Id vote against it just for that reason," he told me last night. "The public has a right to know every word in a public contract."

He's also concerned that this is the "wrong time" for such a major contract, which could last up to four years.

Mazziotti tells me that these mental health services are offered to low income residents, and that about 50,000-60,000 people meet the income guidelines. But how many of these are actually consumers?

In a day and age where senseless gun violence is perpetrated by people with serious mental health issues and state hospitals are closing, I'm all for spending what we need to spend on mental health. But No Bid? Is this the most effective way to do it? How many consumers are actually benefited by this annual payment of $75 million?

I'll try to get answers tonight.

Incidentally, Northampton County uses Magellan, too.

Why Allentown State Hospital Should Stay Open

When I parked inside the Allentown State Hospital campus at high noon yesterday, the first thing I noticed were the mounds of acorns that seemed to be scattered everywhere.

Nuts!

I crunched along these shells, making my way to a small band of about twenty union workers, one of whom adorned her overcoat with a little groundhog doll in honor of Groundhog Day. They were nice people, and they were obviously concerned about losing their jobs. I expected that. But what I did not expect was that they really care about the residents at the state hospital, who are incapable of speaking for themselves.

State Representatives Doug Reichley and Steve Samuelson both spoke eloquently, and Reichley's remarks to me were posted here yesterday. Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski did drop by to express his hope that jobs could be saved.

Mike Baker, an Income Maintenance Caseworker at the Lehigh County Assistance Office ans Chairperson of SEIU Local 668 Chapter 13, organized yesterday's rally, and had this to say.

We are employees of Allentown State Hospital (ASH), providing intensive inpatient mental heath services to residents of Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, Carbon and Pike counties. We are the proud members of SEIU Local 668, AFSCME and other union and employee organizations. We are state legislators and local officials concerned about patients and workers of the hospital.

We are protesting the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's decision to close ASH effective Dec. 31, 2010. On Sept. 25, 2009, the state gave SEIU Local 668 a 30-day notice of possible furloughs. In October of 2009, DPW was asked by State Representative Mario Civera whether it was true that the hospital was being closed and shortly thereafter The Morning Call ran a story on the state's announced plan to close ASH. DPW responded there were no plans to do so at that time. When repeatedly asked about a possible closing, DPW continued to say the same thing. On Dec. 17, 2009, several state legislators wrote DPW Secretary of Welfare Estelle Richman asking to meet with her or a representative from her office over the reduction in patient population to 115 patients. Richman and DPW never responded to the request until early Thursday morning, Jan. 28, 2010, when acting Secretary of Welfare Harriet Dichter asked to meet with the legislators to inform them of the closing. That same morning, I received phonecalls from hospital workers and SEIU Local 668 President Kathy Jellison telling me DPW was closing the hospital and asking me to attend a meeting at the hospital that day the state was having with union stewards at the hospital. So after months of being asked by unions and state representatives whether the hospital was being closed, the state gave two hours notice of a meeting to announce the closing! Even though hospital workers and the unions suspected DPW would close the hospital, the fact that it gave such short notice of the closing proved that DPW had been planning the closing for a long time.

DPW has announced that it will be holding a public hearing from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010, at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Suites, 3400 Airport Rd., Allentown, to accept comment about the closure from stakeholders, officials and the community, with those wishing to provide comments asked to register by contacting Beth Neston at (610) 740-3409. DPW should have held public hearings before making the decision to close the hospital! We urge the public, patients, families of patients and other interested parties to attend the hearing and make known any objections to the hospital's closing. Right now there are few community facilities with slots available to handle patients who are not being transferred to Wernersville State Hospital (WSH). Even if there were, these facilities don't have the worker stability ASH has due to lower pay and benefits, which are issues the state and community facilities need to address. Make no mistake about it, the closing of ASH is not so much a move by the state because of its “commitment to reducing its reliance on institutional care and improving access to home and community-based services for Pennsylvanians living with mental illness” or to reintegrate patients into communities as desired by several mental health organizations as it is to primarily save money. It remains to be seen if the $35.3 million/year allocated for ASH will “follow the patient.” The state's intention to place workers into other state jobs is an attempt, not a promise, and will be difficult in light of state worker layoffs in 2009.

ASH has been underutilized and currently has a patient waiting list due to not having more staff. Community facilities that DPW wants to place ASH patients in currently also have waiting lists. If the state goes through with closing ASH and transfers 65 patients to WSH, the families of those patients will have to drive 90 or more minutes to visit them. In the future, if ASH closes, and patients need to be admitted to a state hospital, patients from Lehigh and Northampton counties will be admitted to WSH and patients from Carbon, Monroe and Pike counties will be admitted to Clarks Summit State Hospital. How often will their family and friends be able to visit them then?

SEIU Local 668 understands the reluctance of state legislators to raise taxes and accordingly has provided examples of wasteful spending and ways to streamline state government that could save the state more than $1 billion per year, which would have gone a long way to help solve the 2009 state budget crisis and help in balancing future state budgets. These were provided to the Governor and to the House Appropriations Committee by testimony of 668 officers and through the lobbying of 668 members in 2009. We urge the Governor and state legislators to implement these suggestions and fairly fund social services in the state budget and not close ASH, as well as work to further extend Unemployment Compensation benefits and implement other revenue sources such as closing tax loopholes that allow out-of-state businesses to operate in Pennsylvania without paying taxes.

Contact SEIU Local 668 President Kathy Jellison, who was a social worker at Torrance State Hospital for many years, at 1-800-932-0368 with questions or for further comments.

For more information on 668’s examples of wasteful state spending and ways to streamline state government that would save more than $1billion/year, please go to www.seiu668.org.

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Conservative Doug Reichley Standing With SEIU?

I was surprised to see State Rep. Doug Reichley at today's SEIU rally, protesting DPW's decision to close Allentown State Hospital. But as he quickly made clear, "This isn't a Republican or Democrat issue. This affects people's lives ... ." Reichley also pointed out that it is his office that actually blew the whistle on this anticipated closure.
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Local Unions to Rally Tomorrow Against Closing Allentown State Hospital!

Last week, thanks to a tip from Allentown community activist Dennis Pearson, I was able to tell you that Pennsylvania's DPW plans to close Allentown State Hospital by the end of this year. Now don't you worry, state officials will conduct a hearing to get your input on February 22, between 9AM and 9 PM, at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, and you can register at (610) 740-3409. But as someone pointed out to me, why would they be interested in what we think if the decision has already been made?

Over a month ago, State Rep. Joe Brennan sent DPW a letter asking for a sit down, joined by State Reps. Karen Beyer, Jennifer Mann, Doug Reichley and Steve Samuelson. Concerned about the workforce as well as the families being served, the LV delegation expressed some hope that the institution could remain open. In Secretary Dichter's news release last week, she indicated patients would be sent to a group home, public housing or with family. She also said she'd "attempt" to find jobs for workers elsewhere in the state, maybe Punxsutawney.

Well, the unions have had enough! Tomorrow, members of SEIU Local 668 and AFSCME Local 2061 will rally outside the entrance to Allentown State Hospital on dangerous Hanover Avenue. They'll be meeting at 12:15 PM, wearing either their union colors or a Groundhog Day costume.

Where there's unions, there's bound to be a few politicians. So Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, joined by State Rep. Steve Samuelson, will condemn this closure.

This is one instance where a conservative like Allentown's Scott Armstrong and Pawlowski are in complete agreement. That probably means the world will end tomorrow instead of 2011, as predicted by the Mayans.

No word on who will be providing traffic control, but I doubt they'll be using boy scouts.

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