Legislator Al Krupski Protests Psychiatric Center Closure

John Mitty Thursday, September 26, 2013

Legislator Al Krupski is spearheading an effort to keep the Sagamore Children’s Psyhiatric Center in Dix Hills open and running.  He has gained the backing of a majority membership in the Suffolk County Legislature.  The closure is planned as part of a move by the New York Office of Mental Health to consolidate services offered to psychiatric patients throughout the state.  The clinic is available to provide long term care of up to four months for children and teens requiring hospitalization.

According to Krupski, many children and teens are already “falling through the cracks of the mental health system.”  Closing down the psychiatric center will only make the problem worse.  “Often patients, if treated early and effectively, can live long, productive and healthy lives.  To cut services to the most vulnerable is a poor way to save money,” stated Legislator William Spencer, chairman of the Legislature’s Health Committee.  The legislature majority supporting the move to keep the psychiatric center open includes members of both political parties.  Sagamore is not the only clinic that would close down if the plan goes through.  The state’s 24 psychiatric hospitals would be consolidated into just 15 community centers—none of which would treat children on Long Island.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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