From Bayoubuzz
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The recent slaying of a New Orleans police officer, Nicola Cotton, 24, in an one-on-one struggle with a man who appears to have a history of mental problems has shed further light upon the pressing needs of a City devastated by Hurricane Katrina: the needs of mental health care.
Yesterday, Bobby Jindal, the new Louisiana Governor discussed that issue in a press conference and stressed the importance of dealing with the many medical needs of a post-Katrina world.
One of the individuals who knows first-hand about this very sore problem is Dr. Lorrie Metzler who is an Emergency Room Physician and Louisiana President of the FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association as well as medical commentator for Bayoubuzz.
“There is a critical shortage of both in-patient and out-patient mental health care facilities in the metropolitan New Orleans area and Louisiana. Patients, their families, and other health care professionals have faced a crisis in trying to find adequate mental health care facilities for patient needs,” said Dr. Metzler.
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From Daily Hampshire Gazette
Friday, January 25, 2008
by Andrew Horton
Plans for the future “smart growth” development of the north campus of the former Northampton State Hospital are taking shape.
On Thursday, the Planning Board approved two housing projects proposed by Wright Builders, for what is now called Village Hill.
One project, called Eastview, is expected to develop 12 condominium, market-rate townhouse units in three buildings, all within a single two-thirds of an acre parcel of Village Hill.
Eastview - which would be located at the corner of Olander Drive and Moser Street - is expected to be pedestrian-friendly and will include walkways and bicycle racks.
Another neighborhood, called Morningside, will call for the construction of 11 market-rate single family homes just across the street from Eastview along Olander Drive. Each home in Morningside is expected to include a garage, front porch, back deck, and adjoining private backyard patio. The Morningside homes will also share a common sidewalk running along Olander Drive.
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From The Republican
Saturday, January 12, 2008
By Fred Contrada
The first newly built residential units on Hospital Hill could break ground as soon as April 1 after the Planning Board approved the project Thursday night.
Community Builders, which is developing part of the residential component of the Village Hill Northampton project, sought and received permission to build 40 apartment units in six buildings on three parcels. Thirty-two of those units will be affordable to people earning up to 60 percent of the median area income. Twelve of those 32 will be earmarked for clients of the Department of Mental Health.
The entire campus where the commercial-industrial-residential complex is being built was once the site of Northampton State Hospital. The city gained control of the land when the state deinstitutionalized clients in the early 1990s, placing many of them in community settings. The project had been called the Village at Hospital Hill but MassDevelopment, the quasi-public agency overseeing the project, changed the name to Village Hill Northampton because it said some prospective commercial tenants were turned off by the reference to the hospital.
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From The Republican
Thursday, January 03, 2008
By Fred Contrada
If all goes according to plan, 2008 will leave Northampton looking markedly different than it looked on Jan. 1.
A number of major construction projects will change the face of downtown Northampton and nearby Hospital Hill. The latter, which in recent years has been used mostly for sledding, will take a giant step toward begin turned it into a village with businesses and residents of all income levels.
Once the city’s biggest employer, Northampton State Hospital was a village of sorts in its heyday, with its own farm, bowling alley and beauty parlor. Since the Department of Mental Health began relocating patients into the community in the early 1990s, the city has dreamed of turning the site into a new kind of village.
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