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DEBORAH A. MILES PEF members at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI) feel the services provided to people with severe mental illness at the Washington Heights Community Service (WHCS) clinic are under attack.
WHCS is a separate, state program within the institute and provides care to more than 1,000 outpatients and 200 inpatients, according to Richard Herman.
Herman, a PEF member, was the WHCS administrator from 1978 until he was demoted February 1, 2010. He served as deputy director at NYSPI from 2006 to 2008, and also was demoted from that position. He is still working as a research scientist 3 at the institute.
“I know my days are numbered in this place,” Herman said. “I’ve been retaliated against for working with the state Comptroller’s Office to find out if the state Office of Mental Health (OMH) has been using state resources such as staff and money to subsidize programs at Columbia University Medical Center.”
“When a new director, Dr. Jeffrey A. Lieberman, took over the helm at NYSPI five years ago, things started to change,” Herman said. “Before the appointment of Lieberman, the union had maintained a harmonious relationship with management. It collaborated to successfully prevent significant layoffs.”
Lieberman also is the chairman of the Psychiatry Department at Columbia University and Director of Psychiatry at the Columbia Campus of New York Presbyterian Hospital.
According to Herman, Lieberman attempted to remove Dr. Francine Cournos in February 2010. She was the director of WHCS for 32 years. Cournos protested her removal, and the state Office of Mental Health Commissioner Michael Hogan assigned her to another facility.
PEF members mobilized to protest the removal of Cournos and Herman through a letter-writing campaign and using other methods, according to Cynthia Kolbowski, PEF Division 254 council leader at NYSPI.
As a result of PEF activism, Cournos has been reinstated to NYSPI until her retirement in April. PEF local leaders have also demanded a search committee be formed to find her replacement and ease the transition to a new director.
“There has been no response to this demand,” Kolbowski said.
PEF Vice President Pat Baker called the situation at NYSPI detrimental to members as well as the patients they treat.
“We have members in certain areas within the institute who work in fear and uncertainty,” Baker said. “The work environment has eroded to one of staff harassment, bullying and retaliation. This is just another example of the bigger picture within OMH where members across the state are being intimidated. Members need to stop being afraid and mobilize to fight back, protect their jobs, and focus on the services they provide.”
PEF is not taking this situation lightly. Union leaders are planning strategies to ease staff fears, regain respect in the workplace and maintain community services.
Kolbowski said she plans to have a sticker day and other follow-up actions to fight an oppressive management.
“Our message will be heard. We are here. We are loud. We are active,” Kolbowski said.