Bill Text: NJ ACR146 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Governor to reopen Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-25 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Senior Services Committee [ACR146 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-ACR146-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 146
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 25, 2020
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Governor to reopen Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the Governor to reopen the Senator Garrett W. Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital.
Whereas, The Senator Garrett W. Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital (Hagedorn), located in Glen Gardner, Hunterdon County opened as a treatment center for individuals with tuberculosis, was converted into a geriatric psychiatric hospital in the 1970s, and in the early 2000s began accepting seriously ill patients of all ages; and
Whereas, According to mental health advocates, Hagedorn was one of the most highly functioning and well-staffed hospitals in the State, and its smaller size and specialization in geriatric mental health filled a niche that other State psychiatric hospitals did not; and
Whereas, Hagedorn, at its peak, housed 300 patients, and as of late April of 2010, 184 of Hagedorn's 273 patients were aged 65 years or older; and
Whereas, Hagedorn was closed in July 2012, and the reasons given for the closure of the hospital by former Governor Christie included cost savings and an effort to provide treatment for individuals with mental illness in the least restrictive setting possible; and
Whereas, Leading up to the hospital's closure in 2012, its 255 patients were moved into nursing homes, community placements, or relocated to other State hospitals, and advocates express concern that because of their advanced age or frailty, those former Hagedorn patients may not be able to advocate for themselves to change their situation if their new placements are not providing the necessary levels of care and support; and
Whereas, Populations of the other State psychiatric hospitals have increased, in part, due to their absorption of some of the former Hagedorn patients, resulting in the untenable overcrowding and dangerous conditions at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, which was built to house 450 people in the main building, but which as of March 2017 housed 560 patients; and
Whereas, Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital experienced a marked increase in patient-on-patient and patient-on-staff violence during 2017, one of the dangerous consequences of overcrowding and insufficient staffing; and
Whereas, According to the World Health Organization, over 20 percent of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental illness or neurological disorder, including dementia and depression, and between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's older adults is expected to nearly double, thus, the State will be required to meet this ongoing public health need; and
Whereas, While it is appropriate and desirable that patients with mental illness be treated in the least restrictive setting possible, there will always be some patients whose illness prevents them from living safely and fully in the community, whose age or condition renders them particularly vulnerable if they were to be hospitalized with other mentally ill patients, or whose illness requires stabilization that only a specialized psychiatric hospital can provide; and
Whereas, It is fitting and appropriate that the State reopen the Senator Garrett W. Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital to ensure the safety of not only those patients with mental illness who because of their advanced age have specialized treatment needs that cannot be satisfactorily met in other settings, but of all patients in the State's care; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature of this State respectfully urges the Governor to reopen the Senator Garrett W. Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital so that the State can provide appropriate treatment and support to its older residents with mental illness who require hospitalization, and in the process, potentially help to relieve the dangerous overcrowding of some of the State's other psychiatric hospitals.
2. Copies of this Resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Commissioners of Health and Human Services.
STATEMENT
This Concurrent Resolution urges the Governor to reopen the Senator Garrett W. Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital so that the State can provide appropriate treatment and support to its older residents with mental illness who require hospitalization, and in the process, potentially help to relieve the dangerous overcrowding of some of the State's other psychiatric hospitals.
According to mental health advocates, Hagedorn was one of the most highly functioning and well-staffed hospitals in the State, and its smaller size and specialization in geriatric mental health filled a niche that other State psychiatric hospitals did not. Hagedorn, at its peak, housed 300 patients, and as of late April of 2010, 184 of Hagedorn's 273 patients were aged 65 years or older.
Leading up to the hospital's closure in 2012, its 255 patients were moved into nursing homes, community placements, or relocated to other State hospitals, and advocates express concern that because of their advanced age or frailty, those former Hagedorn patients may not be able to advocate for themselves to change their situation if their new placements are not providing the necessary levels of care and support. Populations of the other State psychiatric hospitals have increased, in part, due to their absorption of some of the former Hagedorn patients, resulting in the untenable overcrowding and dangerous conditions at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. While it is appropriate and desirable that patients with mental illness be treated in the least restrictive setting possible, there will always be some patients whose illness prevents them from living safely and fully in the community, whose age or condition renders them particularly vulnerable if they were to be hospitalized with other mentally ill patients, or whose illness requires stabilization that only a specialized psychiatric hospital can provide.
