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NYC 988 is your connection to free, confidential mental health support. Speak to a counselor via phone, text, or chat and get access to mental health and substance use services, in more than 200 languages, 24/7/365. At any hour of any day, in almost any language, from phone, tablet or computer, NYC 988 is your connection to get the help you need:
COVID-19 Community Conversations: Mental Health, Equity & Resilience
Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 9:30 - 11 a.m. End times are approximate. Events
may end early or late.
In partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Roosevelt
Island library is proud to present COVID-19 Community Conversations: Mental
Health, Equity, & Resilience.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global shared traumatic experience that disrupts
and affects our families, friends, and communities.
In NYC and nationally, people of color are disproportionally affected by
COVID-19. To address the mental health challenges brought by the pandemic and
structural racism in our City, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
will provide a free virtual presentation on topics including grief, trauma,
coping, and resilience, in addition to mental health tips. Patrons will enter
a safe space to discuss the effects of the pandemic and learn about coping
skills and relevant resources.
Please register online at the following link:
https://nypl_rooseveltisland.timetap.com. If you have any difficulty registering, please call (646) 874- 4653.
Registration is limited and spots will be assigned on a first come, first
serve basis. This program will be hosted on Webex and can be accessed using a
computer, tablet, or phone. Please contact
sashajones@nypl.org with
any questions regarding the program.
More info on mental health access during the Covid 19 Pandemic from this Thrive NYC video.
As previously reported, the Roosevelt Island branch library is now open for Grab and Go service and
Download audiobooks onto your phone, computer, or e-reader—all you need is your library card. https://t.co/PrkS3r14F5
Philip Martinez is a senior at Cornell University. Mr Martinez writes:
I am currently working on a research project pertaining to the effects of extreme heat and COVID-19 on older adults in New York City with Dr. So-Min Cheong from Kansas University, and Dr. Cary Reid and Dr. Jo Anne Sirey from Weill Cornell Medicine.
I was wondering if you would be able to share the study recruitment flyer, which I have attached below, in the Roosevelt Islander Blog? This is a fantastic opportunity to help contribute to the growing body of science about the unique physiological and psychological stresses of older adults.
According to the flyer:
We are looking for individuals (aged 65 and over) whose lives have been impacted in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic and/or extreme heat
Eligible participants will complete a 15-minute survey of demographic information, social connectedness, and depression, a 30-minute interview, and an optional smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to be done 5 times a day for a total of 5 minutes for up to 3 weeks to assess your mood and stress.
We are interested in understanding the physiological and psychological stresses of extreme events on older adults in New York City. By participating, you can help us to improve mental health and disease prevention programs.
The Genomic Psychiatry Cohort was founded by Drs. Michele and Carlos Pato to enroll a large clinical cohort of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD, and control participants.
The GPC was formed from an initial population of ~10,000 participants from earlier studies. Over the past six years, we have enrolled an additional 23,000 participants. (~9,000 Caucasian, ~5,000 African American, ~8,000 Latino, ~1,000 other). Along with Downstate Medical Center participation we hope to enroll another 15,000 - 20,000 participants....
Thrive NYC is hosting a free Roosevelt Island Mental Health First Aid Training For Families Saturday, June 9 at the PS/IS 217 auditorium (646 Main Street).
As part of the City's ThriveNYC initiative, the NYC Health Department is offering free Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to all New Yorkers. This is an eight hour training offered seven days a week in all five boroughs.
MHFA is a groundbreaking public education program that teaches the skills needed to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance abuse challenges and crises....
recently received an $84 Thousand grant from the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation to enhance care for dementia patients living at the facility. According to the NYC HHC:
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler has received an $84,000 grant from the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation to pursue Comfort Matters® accreditation and to expand and enhance palliative care practices for people living with dementia throughout the skilled nursing facility. At NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler, more than half of the residents at this 815-bed facility have a dementia diagnosis, including 155 living in one of three memory care units.
The new 18-month grant will allow NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler to build on its comfort approach to caring for people with dementia. Noteworthy progress to date has included reduced utilization of anti-psychotic medications, increased participation in the Music & Memory Program, fewer physical altercations, fewer falls, and fewer transfers to the hospital emergency department.
“While we have already earned a national reputation as a leader in the care of residents with dementia, we cannot rest on our laurels,” said Robert Hughes, chief executive officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler. “This new grant reflects our ongoing commitment to improve the quality of life for these residents, which is important not just to them, but also to their family members and friends who go through this journey with us.”
A project funded by the new grant will focus on improving the quality of life and care provided for residents diagnosed with advanced dementia. Instead of the more traditional medical model of care, the project will guide providers in applying a comfort-focused approach, modeled on the groundbreaking program developed by Beatitudes Campus, a nonprofit senior living community in Phoenix, Arizona. The Comfort Matters® accreditation is based on applying the Beatitudes approach.
In addition to alleviating suffering and providing comfort for people with advanced dementia and their families, the grant project has two other goals. It aims to enhance job satisfaction for staff by facilitating the adoption of advanced practices in palliative care, specifically targeted to the care of people with dementia living in residential care. It also aims to guide the most appropriate use of available resources and, as a result, reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and ER use.
Working closely with Beatitudes throughout the grant period, NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler staff involved in the project will focus on achieving Comfort Matters® accreditation for the Memory Care Team and expanding and enhancing care practices for patients with dementia on the existing three units and throughout NYC health + Hospitals/Coler. The Comfort Matters® accreditation process involves extensive teaching and monitoring (as well as the final accreditation assessment) by Comfort Matters® staff. In addition, a staff member at CaringKind, a New York non-profit focused on Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving, will provide ongoing support to NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler staff throughout the project.
Here's more on the Coler Hospital Music & Memory Program for dementia patients,
During the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) October 4 Common Council meeting, RIRA Vice President Lynn Strong-Shinozaki discussed an initiative to make mental health issues information available for the Roosevelt Island community and what to do if you are concerned about someone with a potential mental health issue.
Ms Strong-Shinozaki told the RIRA Common Council:
... Seniors have different risk factors than adult working people. Children have different risk factors, teens have different risk factors. Making sure we make that type of information available....
and:
... within a two month period, we have had two women commit suicide by jumping off balconies...
A potential resource for those seeking mental health assistance are services provided by NYC Well.
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
