Issues: Mental Health

Ritchie to Deliver Signatures, Statements of Support

to State Officials at Wednesday Listening Session

***Click Here to Sign the Petition***

State Senator Patty Ritchie will deliver more than 2,000 signatures and statements in support of St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center to Albany officials at Wednesday’s listening session to be held at the facility.

The signatures and stories were collected via www.savethecenter.org, a website Senator Ritchie created to allow people to sign her petition as well as share news and updates on the center.

Senator Objects to 2-hour “Listening” Limit; Urges Community Turnout

State Senator Patty Ritchie met with community leaders and union representatives about their plans to advocate on behalf of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center at the New York State Office of Mental Health Listening Tour on May 15th  at the facility’s Unity Center.

The group is urging supporters of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center to register to attend the public meeting that will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m on May 15th.  Those wishing to sign up to speak may do so here.

State Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, called on the Senate leadership to strengthen and provide adequate funding for the for the Community Mental Health Reinvestment Act. Tkaczyk noted that community-based services are less expensive for taxpayers and more effective for recipients than is institutional care.

For Immediate Release: March 7, 2013

The NYS Department of Financial Services (DFS) is setting new rules to speed the processing of insurance claims in areas affected by Storm Sandy. The new regulation reduces the amount of time an insurer can delay its decision on a claim, and requires insurers to report to the Department on how many claims it is delaying and the reasons for the delays.