Putnam’s Multi-Faceted Approach to Improving Mental Health

By Michael Piazza, Commissioner, Putnam County Department of Social Service and Mental Health, and Michael Cunningham, Director, Putnam County Office for Senior Resources

The COVID pandemic has tipped the scales causing a tsunami of mental health concerns. This is as true in Putnam County as it is around the state and the globe. Access to services has been hindered and mental health needs have increased.

In Putnam, these challenges converge on two pre-pandemic issues: the opioid use epidemic, and a growing population of older residents living independently with varying needs.

Fortunately, in a county of just under 100,000 residents, collaboration between the government departments of Social Services and Mental Health, Public Health, and the Office for Senior Resources dates back decades. With serious traction gained over the past two years, Putnam County leadership and community organizations are implementing multi-faceted solutions spanning the age spectrum. Solving the burgeoning mental health crisis is facilitated by local recognition that mental health is public health, and that responding to crises through the lens of mental health is foundational. The local health department is expanding the capabilities of Putnam County’s Medical Reserve Corps. These volunteers are learning to respond to mental health and substance use aspects of public health emergencies, including naloxone usage for harm reduction and suicide prevention. Putnam’s Prevention Council, a local non-profit, has been a key driver of the expansion of naloxone training and availability.

Youth have been particularly affected by the pandemic. To support this population, the Department of Social Services and Mental Health has been shepherding a project with CoveCare, one of the largest mental health care providers in the county. Now in the final stages, school-based services are set to begin. Pre-pandemic, two school districts had requested onsite services; now four more are interested, along with Green Chimneys, a non-profit providing residential education for students with special needs.

With a $25,000 grant, CoveCare is working with the Putnam Valley School District to establish a satellite clinic in one of their schools. Here face-to-face services will be provided on school grounds, reducing the need for telehealth which has been less effective for some individuals. For families, these school-located services can eliminate a constellation of other stresses.

Seniors are another focal point for Putnam’s efforts. Keeping seniors physically active is crucial to preserving and enhancing their overall well-being. During the 14-month closure due to COVID, many services continued; others were enhanced to combat seniors’ heightened sense of isolation. Reopened in May 2021, Putnam’s Office for Senior Resources (OSR) has further expanded in-person activities. A primary target of the Older Americans Act, nutrition is a critical component for a healthy lifestyle. OSR serves daily hot, nutritious noontime meals as well as providing home delivered meals for those that are homebound, a service that expanded significantly during the pandemic.

Evidenced-based interventions (EBIs) offered to reduce falls and fall risks include “A Matter of Balance” and “Tai Chi for Arthritis,” both available with OSR for nearly a decade. “Bingocize,” considered an EBI by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), is the newest addition.

More than 80 classes, at four strategically located senior friendship centers and remotely, are held each week. Programs offer opportunities for socialization and companionship, nutrition education and health screenings, and include a wide variety from chair Yoga and chair Zumba, to brain fitness and water bottle exercises. Other programs include virtual or in-person wellness checks, transportation to appointments, social model day services for functionally impaired seniors and Putnam SeniorCorps offering meaningful volunteer experiences throughout Putnam County.

A more sustainable future in post-pandemic Putnam also rests in two plans to increase access to services. Long championed by the Department of Social Services and Mental Health, the county’s first crisis stabilization center, which will employ a supportive-care model with available funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, is in the initial planning phase. Meanwhile, OSR is collaborating with four other Mid-Hudson counties— Dutchess, Rockland, Orange and Ulster—on the development of a regional, health network to effect better quality of life and health outcomes for older residents and their caregivers. The network would promote services that impact social determinants of health to support seniors living as independently and as healthily as possible.

Community-based programming specifically tailored to the community needs is the essence of public health. The promise of this collaborative work, addressing the social factors that determine one’s health, has the potential to transform health outcomes for those in need and the possibility to elevate the health landscape for all.

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