Brindisi, Griffo Request a Public Forum on Plans to Cut Jobs at the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center

Legislators request Office of Mental Health Commissioner to come to Utica to discuss reasons behind the downsizing plan

February 9, 2012

Utica – Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica) and State Senator Joseph A. Griffo (R/C-Rome) have asked New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Hogan to come to the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center in Utica to provide specifics on the agency’s plans to cut about 100 positions at the facility.

In a joint letter to Hogan, the two state legislators say they have received a number of calls and emails at their offices from concerned employees of the center as well as local residents requesting specifics on the plan to move about 25 patients to the Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse, and discharge about 40 inpatients now at MVPC.

In the letter, Brindisi and Griffo say there are many issues that need to be clearly outlined, including a justification for the proposal, and whether it means there will be significant savings to the state from its implementation. The two also say they would like to know the plan for discharging patients, and whether they will have adequate supervision and mental health treatment options in the Utica area if they decide to remain in the region. Both also say that officials from OMH and other state agencies need to develop a reuse plan for the large MVPC campus that occupies a large amount of space in what is otherwise a residential neighborhood.

“This is the latest illustration of an Albany agency decision that’s going to have a profound negative effect on public jobs in this region,” said Griffo. “Our area economy will again be asked to bear another hit, while other areas in the state haven’t made the same sacrifices. The employees are rightfully very concerned about their futures, and we are asking the OMH commissioner to hold a public meeting as soon as possible.”

“I am highly concerned that if patients are discharged from the center and choose to remain in the Utica area, they will suffer the consequences of a mental health system that already is overburdened,” Brindisi said. “Patients who have been in this facility for many years will need a lot of assistance adjusting to life in our community, and I am skeptical that they will be able to quickly access the programs and services they need to be a part of our community.”

Griffo and Brindisi also say they would like OMH officials to tour the MVPC campus to get an idea why a reuse plan for the campus is essential, whether or not the proposal to cut 100 positions goes through. Both said in their letter to the commissioner that there have been promises from the state before to renovate and market vacant buildings at the center, but they have remained unfulfilled.

“We would also like to know whether adding patients to Hutchings will require renovations or additional security measures when the MVPC already is a suitable facility to house them,” the letter states. “At a time when the state still faces significant fiscal challenges, it is only fair that we receive specific information outlining how this proposal will save the state money. MVPC has a productive and dedicated workforce, and we want to know if transferring these patients to another facility will provide them with the same level of care they are now receiving in Utica.”

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