New York allocates $171M for mental health, substance use support centers

Jul. 12—A big investment in behavioral health

Mental health organizations have long been pushing for the resources to provide immediate care to people experiencing a behavioral health crisis.

The dollars are finally starting to flow.

Consider two announcements in recent months from Gov. Kathy Hochul:

—In early February, she announced the availability of more than $100 million over five years for 12 new "Intensive Crisis Stabilization Centers" across the state.

—Then, in a related announcement early this month, Hochul announced that the state has $71 million available to develop 12 new "Supportive Crisis Stabilization Centers" in New York.

The centers — there's a difference between the two, which we'll get to momentarily — all fit into a comprehensive crisis response system the state is developing, one that will be available to all New Yorkers, regardless of their ability to pay.

The difference between the two centers

Glenn Liebman, the longtime CEO of the nonprofit Mental Health Association in New York State, thinks of the crisis stabilization centers as urgent care centers for people with mental health or addiction needs.

As for the difference between the intensive and supportive centers, it is just as it sounds.

The intensive crisis stabilization centers will offer many services, including medication treatment for the management of substance use and mental health symptoms. The supportive centers, meanwhile, are "similar to a living room model," and offer walk-in services and emphasize peer support that is resilience and recovery oriented, according to state documents.

There will be an intensive and a supportive crisis center in each of the nine upstate regions, including the five-county Western New York region, and three of each in New York City.

The development of the intensive centers is further ahead. The state issued a request for proposal on the intensive centers in late January, with proposals due in early June and awards set to be announced any day now.

The state just started seeking proposals for the supportive centers in late June, with award notifications anticipated in early November.

How does it all fit?

To explain how the state's system will work, Liebman thinks of it like legs of a stool.

The first leg, he said, is the new National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, in which phone providers must connect callers who dial 988 to the lifeline, starting on July 16.

While some people might be able to get the help they need over the phone, Liebman said there also will be a group of people who may need the care of a crisis stabilization center — the second leg of the stool.

For those who can't get to a center, there's the third leg of the stool: mobile crisis teams.

Last, he said, is the community services and support a person needs.

Liebman said he doesn't see this as a panacea, but it is a step in the right direction to provide the immediate care many people need, while diverting away from unneeded emergency room visits.

He expects that most of the funding available for the crisis stabilization centers will go toward staffing.

"At the end of the day, it's about your workforce, and if your workforce is not well funded, then it leads to bad outcomes," he said.

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WELL, THAT'S INTERESTING ...

What: A recent analysis of New York's financial plan by state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli provides some insight into the $800 million in spending planned this fiscal year for safety-net hospitals in severe financial distress, as well as nursing homes and other health care providers.

Tell me more: DiNapoli's office notes that the enacted budget does not define "severe financial distress." However, he points out that unrelated provisions of the state public health law have mandated facilities in severe financial distress to certify that they have less than 15 days of cash and equivalents, among other requirements.

Why it matters: Fifteen days is not a lot of cash, and it would be interesting to know how many hospitals would even qualify for safety-net money at that requirement. For example, Erie County Medical Center Corp. projected 70 days' of cash in its 2022 budget, significantly down from 152 days in 2020 and 119 days in 2019, according to its 2021 annual report.

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WOW, WHAT A CAREER

Who: Catholic Health held a retirement celebration July 1 for Sharon Kozlowski, who worked in Mercy Hospital'sSterile Processing Department for more than 52 years. She started her career at Mercy on Feb. 19, 1970, when she was just 16 years old.

Reflection: In a statement from Catholic Health, Kozlowski said the most significant change during her long career was the introduction of computer technology in the 1980s. Also notable: The dissolution of Mercy's longtime monorail system that transported supplies through the hospital.

They said it: As she retires, Kozlowski recalled what a coworker told her when she was just starting her career: "We're in health care, and that means we're a team, and we're here to help each other. And when we help each other, we are automatically helping our patients."

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THE LATEST

Catch up on the latest news from Buffalo Next:

The Tops Markets store on Jefferson Avenue will reopen Friday, two months and one day after 10 people were killed there in a racist mass shooting.

Amazon, one of the world's largest companies, is seeking more than $124 million in tax breaks from Niagara County to support the development of a massive, $450 million distribution center in the Town of Niagara.

Buffalo biopharmaceutical firm Athenex is unloading another asset for $19 million, the latest sale the company has made in its turnaround bid.

Two retailers in Buffalo Niagara region, including one with four shops in the area, have been ordered by the state's Office of Cannabis Management to stop the unlicensed sale of cannabis.

The new owner of the Jersey Street Firehouse on Buffalo'sWest Side plans to convert the three-story brick building into apartments, after a previous redevelopment proposal by another group ran into neighborhood opposition.

Buffalo Transportation Inc. has been suspended from operating its vehicles for 60 days by the state, the result of a penalty long ago imposed by the Department of Motor Vehicles that was just recently upheld by the state Supreme Court.

A former church rectory that later became home to the Larkin Men's Club for workers at the Larkin Co. is getting ready for a new use as market-rate apartments and commercial space, with the husband-and-wife team of Michael Myers and Kayla Zemsky renovating the 696 Seneca St. building.

Shea's has revived a $26 million plan from a few years ago for a five-story addition with new elevators, concessions, bathrooms and lobby. The project will be in front of the Buffalo Preservation Board on Thursday.

SUNY Erie Community College's Board of Trustees approved a resolution Thursday supporting the elimination of 90 positions at the financially troubled college. The jobs are mostly part-time clerical and maintenance positions at the college.

Buffalo Next reporters Jonathan D. Epstein, Jon Harris, Natalie Brophy, Matt Glynn, Janet Gramza and Mike Petro contributed to this roundup.

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ICYMI

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. Which WNY companies' pollution poses biggest potential public health risk?: The Buffalo Niagara region improved when compared to other metropolitan regions in overall total pollution releases to air, water and land — moving from 44th most in the nation in 2015 to 163rd most out of 893 urban areas.

2. Dollar stores are booming: Do these retailers help or hurt communities?: The dollar store industry is one of the fastest growing in the country, often bringing a wide-ranging store to communities and neighborhoods where shopping options are limited. But not everyone is happy.

3. Buffalo Together grant recipients putting dollars behind ideas: The Buffalo Together fund's mission is to address long-range community needs. But fund leaders also thought it was important to "get money out the door as quickly as possible" and support organizations working on the front lines since the May 14 massacre at the Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue.

4. St. Joseph Campus has been through many changes over the years: They range from the abrupt transition to a Covid-19-only hospital in 2020 to the ongoing reinvention into an outpatient and ambulatory care center. Constant reinvention is what it takes to fit within the future of health care.

5. New apartments are popping up across Western New York: From the Elmwood Village and Allentown to South Buffalo and the West Side, from Tonawanda and Amherst to Orchard Park and Hamburg, developers are putting up new apartment buildings or converting old industrial warehouses and offices.

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The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region's economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Deputy Business Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

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