October 9, 2024
Today’s NY State of Politics briefing includes an article covering Friends of Recovery NYs (FOR-NY) Annual Recovery Conference (happening in Albany this week) where the discussion focused on the creation of work and home environments to help people address addiction issues and to ensure they succeed in recovery. The conference featured a discussion with Senator Nathalia Fernandez, Chair of the Senate Alcoholism and Substance Use Committee. The keynote address was given by Ann Marie Foster, CEO of Phoenix House of NY, a NYS Council member agency.https://nystateofpolitics.com/state-of-politics/new-york/politics/2024/10/07/the-workplace–n-y–s-next-fight-for-addiction-support
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Today at 11:00 Bill Hammond will discuss changes to the administration of the CDPAP home care program, including the potential unionization of the workforce with radio host David Lombardo who hosts The Capitol Pressroom. Hammond is a senior fellow for health policy at the Empire Center for Public Policy. Yesterday we sent you an analysis conducted by the Empire Center looking at NY’s current chase for federal approval of a new MCO Tax that would generate funds New York is relying on to subsidize past and future funding increases for NY hospitals and nursing homes. Securing a set aside of these funds for our mental health and substance use disorders systems of care is a top priority for our association. Here’s a link to the radio show today at 11:00: https://capitolpressroom.org/?mc_cid=e92fd600bf&mc_eid=101f23c33c
Last week New York State Budget Director Blake Washington spoke with David Lombardo, host of The Capitol Pressroom radio show about the current fiscal year, including potential revenues from a Medicaid managed care tax, and the upcoming budget process, including potential revenue from fees to polluters, savings from the administration of home care, and controlling agency spending.
https://capitolpressroom.org/2024/10/04/state-budget-director-discusses-nys-fiscal-picture/
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Last week NYS Council staff and two member agency representatives met with leads from the State Education Department and the Office of the Professions regarding our deep concerns related to recent changes to scope of practice laws and the new Diagnostic Privilege. We illustrated the bottlenecks and barriers some of the changes have created / will create for community-based mental health and substance use disorder agencies and their ability to meet unprecedented demand for these services.
Here’s a tip that comes from the meeting that may assist your agency as you slog through the process while we continue to work with state leaders to identify solutions to the variety of issues posed by recent changes to licensing laws. (I sent this to our Scope of Practice listserv yesterday):
Some NYS Council member agencies and their staff may be searching for a way to obtain copies of transcripts from colleges that have closed/ceased operations in order to complete the application process for the Diagnostic Privilege. We received the following information from SED in response to a question we raised about a local college here in Albany (College of St. Rose) that recently closed and a practitioner who graduated from the college does not know where to turn for the documents she needs to apply for the Diagnostic Privilege. A response from SED is in italics below:
New York State Education Law Section 219 requires institutions that dissolve to designate a permanent location and custodian for student academic records.
In the case of St. Rose, they have partnered with the National Student Clearinghouse to provide transcripts and degree verifications. More information about St. Rose’s closure can be found on our website here: https://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/college-saint-rose-closure-information
For other New York State institutions, we have a website Transcripts from Closed Colleges that provides the location of records. This provides students access to their academic records even though the institution is no longer operating. —————————————-
(Article from Politico Healthcare, 10/9/24)
The Bronx is getting its first full-service recovery center for patients with opioid use disorder, local officials announced Tuesday.
The new recovery center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in the south Bronx — funded through a $6 million allocation spearheaded by Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson — will act as a one-stop shop by offering care for all types of substance use needs and conditions.
It will also have three times the capacity as the municipal health system’s nearby Gotham Health outpatient clinic, which can accommodate up to 300 substance use disorder patients per month.
It’s a critical expansion in an area with some of the city’s highest rates of overdose deaths.
In 2022,Bronx residents had the highest rate of fatal overdoses in the city at 73.6 per 100,000 residents, according to Department of Health and Mental Hygiene data. And that rate has more than doubled since 2019.
The five New York City neighborhoods with the highest overdose death rates are all in the Bronx, per the 2022 data.
“We are experiencing a crisis in the Bronx that requires urgent action and attention as the opioid epidemic continues to impact our communities,” Gibson said in a statement. “This epidemic doesn’t just affect those struggling with addiction; it creates ripple effects that impact crime, homelessness and the overall quality of life in our neighborhoods.”