Finger Lakes Health (FLH) facilities in Yates County have reached a crisis point in elder and mental health care.
“A staffing problem has evolved into a crisis for John D. Kelly Clinic with the resignation of three out of four therapists in mid-January,” reads the report submitted to the county legislature by George Roets, Director of Community Services. The report was written in early February regarding outpatient services at Penn Yan’s Soliders & Sailors Memorial Hospital, according to The Chronicle Express.
Additionally the National Guard has been deployed to four of FLH’s long-term care facilities. The Guard members are assigned in non-clinical areas in the following facilities: The Homestead in Penn Yan, Huntington Living Center in Waterloo, and two Living Centers in Geneva.
Roets has discussed the possibility of halting routine mental health admissions with the NYS Office of Mental Health. He says while facilities appreciate the help of the National Guard, Guard members unfortunately do not have the skills necessary to mitigate the loss of therapy staff.
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