Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Area's mental-health care providers say hallelujah to Codey's initiative (New Jersey)
Princeton Packet story - "Mental-health care providers and advocates welcomed a new state task force as a watershed moment in dealing with a system that often fails its most vulnerable members. 'My reaction is, 'Hallelujah,' ' said Rich McDonald, the director of the Association for Advancement of Mental Health in West Windsor. 'It has been very difficult over the years to get the needs of the chronically and seriously mentally ill addressed in a serious manner.' Acting Gov. Richard Codey's first officials action after taking office Tuesday was to sign an executive order creating an 11-member mental-health task force that will develop recommendations to improve the lives of the mentally ill. ... Mary Pawlikowski, the chief operating officer of Carrier Clinic in Montgomery, said she plans to follow the task force's work very closely. Some key issues Ms. Pawlikowksi hopes the task force will address include providing greater access to a full continuum of services regardless of a patient's ability to pay."