Please see the message below from New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan.
Dear Colleagues,
Let me begin by saying thank you for all that you do for individuals facing mental health challenges in New York State. The service you provide to them and their families is remarkable, invaluable, and appreciated. By working together, New York State can and will increase the coordination between hospitals, ambulatory and residential providers, and increase access to mental health care for all New Yorkers.
The Office of Mental Health and Department of Health recently released Guidance on Evaluation and Discharge Practices for individuals who present with behavioral health conditions within psychiatric inpatient programs, emergency departments, and Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Programs (CPEPs).
A critical component of implementing this guidance successfully is increasing coordination with community-based mental health providers – including those licensed, designated, or funded by the Office of Mental Health – doing the warm hand-offs when individuals step up or down from higher levels of care. A collaborative community system can lengthen post-discharge community tenure and help individuals achieve improved clinical outcomes, even those with the most complex needs.
The Office of Mental Health will soon issue draft guidance applicable to OMH-licensed, -designated, and -funded programs, which complements the guidance issued to hospitals this fall. The guidance will detail expectations on communication and collaboration with hospitals, shared discharge planning responsibilities for community-based mental health providers, and responsibility around accepting referrals from hospitals.
OMH will provide avenues for stakeholders to review and provide feedback. This will include direct distribution and solicitation of input on the draft guidance, and through the ongoing statewide and regional hospital-community connection discussions. The draft guidance will further advance our collective efforts to coordinate and integrate systems of care and to ensure individuals with the highest needs are supported and engaged in their recovery.
Again, thank you and I look forward to continuing our work together.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ann Sullivan
Commissioner
New York State Office of Mental Health