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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Melissa O'Brien, Medical Director of Psychiatric Services at Project Renewal
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Melissa O'Brien, Medical Director of Psychiatric Services at Project Renewal, testified about the challenges people with mental illness and disabilities face in accessing healthcare. She highlighted how Project Renewal addresses these issues and called for increased support and funding for community-based care.
- Described barriers such as long wait times, crowded clinics, and complex paperwork that can overwhelm patients with mental illness
- Explained Project Renewal's approach, including staff assistance and occupational therapy to help clients navigate healthcare
- Requested council investment in community-based care teams, expanded psychiatric and specialty care access, transportation support, and funding for bridge services
Melissa O'Brien
1:53:53
Hi.
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Thank you.
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My name is Melissa O'Brien.
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I'm the medical director of psychiatric services at Project Renewal, a nonprofit that's been serving New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and substance use for over fifty five years.
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Today, want to talk about how people with mental illness and disabilities have been left behind by our health care system that simply isn't designed with them in mind.
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Many of our clients struggle to access care because of long wait times, crowded clinics, and confusing paperwork.
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For someone experiencing severe symptoms of mental illness or living with trauma, just sitting in a waiting room can be too much.
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For example, a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia may be experiencing paranoia, auditory hallucinations, or delusions.
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These symptoms can create additional barriers to pursuing and receiving care for a cancer diagnosis.
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The patient may have difficulty navigating complex language, difficulty scheduling appointments, difficulty understanding next steps, difficulty in crowded waiting rooms, and difficulty sitting through tests and also following through with medicate medication regimens.
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At project renewal, we've stepped in.
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Our staff help clients make appointments, explain medical instructions, escort them to providers, and ensure that they don't fall through the cracks.
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This includes our occupational therapy team, which plays a unique and essential role.
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Our OTs help clients build routines, manage appointments, and gain confidence to engage in care.
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It's a model that works, but is not funded at a scale that is needed.
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We also face huge system barriers like pharmacy restrictions, Medicaid red tape, reimbursement for telehealth, and long wait times for specialists like neurology, which is critical for aging clients with head trauma or dementia.
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Our staff often spend hours resolving these issues.
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We've created solutions like in house psychiatry, mobile medical clinics, but we can't do it alone.
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We're asking the council to invest in community based care teams, expand psychiatric and specialty care access, support transportation for people who can't use public transit, and fund the bridge services to help that keep people connected to care.
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Access to health care should not depend on whether someone has a case manager who can spend hours navigating broken systems, but should be a right.
1:55:52
Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I'm happy to answer any questions.