I take it back

I made a comment about the lame news coverage by the Times-Useless of a meeting between the Albany County Sheriff and the head of County procurement. As in "big deal." Yeah, so the Sheriff calls his stenographer from the TU every time

And I said in passing that building a jail expansion was "nice I suppose." Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

That's what happens when you're too quick to speak.

Turns out Albany County is building a jail expansion for the mentally ill while Albany Medical is cutting its acute psychiatric capacity in half. So this works I'm sure. Forget hospital care. Just send 'em to jail.

The print version of the TU had a small story, but didn't link the closing of the Albany Med program with the new jail mental health unit. For that we turn to Metroland.

Metroland's got the story by Chet Hardin and he ties the new jail mental health unit to the closing of the Albany Med unit. But Metroland doesn't archive; they just replace their cover story each week (techno-lame) so we won't link to it. But here are some excerpts

"Albany Med has the only short-term psych facility in Albany County," says Jeff Traite, a mental health professional. We need it cause this is the only place people who need to stay in a mental facility for a week or two have to go." "It's not a glamorous business," he adds "being in the psych-hospital business. It is not a big money maker for the hospital. But it is absolutely needed. It is a service that absolutely needs to be here."

He goes on saying that the guy running the hospital has "multiple rationales" for the reorganization, all hinging on a "new care paradigm for mental health services.

This is part a reference to a white paper produced by the Albany County Department of Mental Health that outlined a vision for the future of the county's coordinated services.

I'm sure the Department of Mental Health's "vision" doesn't not include swapping reduced Albany Med services for more jail space. Not unless its vision is the kind that gets you mental health services. And five'll get you ten that there's no insurance or Medicaid coverage for services at the jail like there would be at the hospital. So the county will just spend more of its own money.

Heartless. Dumb.