Wednesday, November 16 2005 @ 03:43 AM EST Contributed by: Admin Views: 4168
Usually, the mental health community has to kick and scream to get governments
to do anything to improve the conditions of the mentally ill. So when an official
goes out of his way to help without having to be pushed, it merits great praise.
Acting Governor of New Jersey Richard Codey has made unannounced visits to mental
hospitals throughout his career in public service, and he did not stop when
he became Governor. In a recent interview, Codey said one of the most surprising
things about being Governor was that his office allows him to fix things so
fast: On a visit in the summer of 2005 to Greystone Hospital, housing over
600 patients, Codey found that there was no working air-conditioning on a 100-degree
day. Within two weeks of his visit, air conditioning was installed in all of
the patient rooms, hallways, and common areas.
Codey's first official act as Governor was to establish
the Governor's Task Force on Mental
Health, to recommend improvements to the
State's mental health system directly to the Governor. Acting on the Task
Force's recommendations, Codey signed executive orders that improves access
to services, establishes a fund for housing for the mentally ill, and provides
student loans to people who are planning careers in the social services. In
addition, Codey and his wife are sponsoring a campaign to educate physicians
and women about postpartum depression.
Acting Governor of New Jersey Richard Codey was a an advocate for the mentally
ill long before he gained high office. As a New Jersey State Assemblyman,
he went undercover, taking the name of a deceased criminal, and applied for
a job as an aide at a State Psychiatric Hospital. The fact that he was hired
without a background check, and the things he saw while at the hospital, lead
to several pieces of legislation to protect hospital patients. Codey's commitment
to the mentally ill also comes partly from personal experience -- his wife
suffered severe postpartum depression -- but he says that fighting for the
rights of the mentally ill is not his personal crusade, it is everyone's issue.
Codey does not even seem to be doing this to get votes, apparently. He
did not run for Governor in the recent election, but his popularity was thought
to have helped Democratic Senator Jon Corzine win the state despite the party's
recent embarrassments such as the resignation of Governor McGreevey. Codey
also seems not to want to replace Corzine in the senate. When asked if he'd
take the job, he says he hasn't asked his wife's permission and that there
are health issues in his family which he needs to attend to. Moreover, Codey
says, he is perfectly happy to return to being President of the New Jersey
State Senate, which is, he reminds us, the second-highest job in New Jersey
Government.
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