(Courtesy of SMGH) “I find it fascinating how the calendar and Pesach center around mental health,” said George Matyjewicz, PhD, community liaison at St. Mary’s General Hospital, in Passaic. “Getting ready for Pesach in April was also Stress Awareness Month. Now May is Mental Health Awareness Month. What’s going on here?
“No, it’s not Pesach causing these mental health issues—it is COVID and the isolation the past two years that have increased the stress levels. This year, we were finally able to celebrate Pesach with our families, which, of course, got many to wonder if that would cause another round of COVID!”
According to Mental Health America1, in 2022, 19.86% of adults are experiencing a mental illness, which is equivalent to nearly 50 million Americans. And 4.91% are experiencing a severe mental illness. In New Jersey, 16.47% of the population is experiencing a mental illness, which is equal to 1,122,000 people. And that is the lowest of all states in the U.S.!
Furthermore, the percentage of adults reporting serious thoughts of suicide is 4.58%, which means that over 11.4 million people in the U.S. had serious suicidal thoughts—an increase of 664,000 people from last year’s data set. In NJ, 3.79% of the population or 260,000 people fall into that category.
“And all of these statistics do not include unreported cases, especially in our frum world,” said Matyjewicz. “How can we set up a Shidduch for our child if somebody in the family has a mental illness? At least that’s the prevailing thought, which is sad.”
Dial 988!
988 is a new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. No longer do you have to call 911. 988 may not yet be available across the U.S., but will be, starting on July 16. Calling 988 will connect the caller to trained counselors who are part of the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network2. These trained counselors will listen, understand how callers’ problems are affecting them, provide support and connect them to resources if necessary. And like for all medical conditions, all information is private!
If you are referred to other resources in New Jersey, there is a strong possibility that it will be to the Behavioral Health Services of St. Mary’s General Hospital, which is listed as a resource with the State of New Jersey and with SAMHSA3.
St. Mary’s Behavioral Health
St. Mary’s General Hospital offers one of the area’s only state-of-the-art voluntary inpatient units for those with psychiatric disorders. The Psychiatric Medical Care Unit is completely new and provides experts including psychiatrists, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurses and a psychiatric occupational therapist, as well as social workers who can help provide a smooth continuum of care for patients with special post-discharge needs. Geriatric specialists are also available to assess and treat the unique needs of this vulnerable population.
In addition, the unit can accommodate patients with certain chronic illnesses; these referrals are handled on a case-by-case basis to ensure that each patient receives the appropriate level of care. Add to this the Psychiatry GME4 Residency Program at St. Mary’s and its sister hospital, St. Clare’s Health, and patients have full coverage for any behavioral or mental health issues.
“At St. Mary’s General Hospital, we recognize the considerable impact this pandemic has had on our community. We witness the incredible resilience of individuals and families every day, but also understand that there may be times when additional professional support is needed,” said Kathleen Fisher, LSW, LPC, ACS, executive director, BHS. “Our Behavioral Health department provides a wide range of programs and facilities enabling adults, children and adolescents to function productively and independently. Our primary goal is to help individuals reach and maintain their highest level of function psychologically, socially, vocationally and economically. For more information or to make an appointment, please call 973-470-3514.”
So, what do I have—behavioral or mental health issues? Let’s explore some of the corresponding conditions. Mental health illnesses are thoughts and feelings, which includes depression, anxiety, bipolar disease and schizophrenia. Negative behaviors don’t always accompany these mental health conditions. When a distinct, regular behavior goes beyond the scope of a typical mental illness and begins to negatively affect someone, it becomes a behavioral disorder that typically requires more specific treatment. Behavioral health is more the specific actions people take—how they respond in various scenarios. Common behavioral disorders include substance abuse; gambling addiction; self-injury; and eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating.
“And all staff at St. Mary’s General have been educated on how best to serve frum patients,” said Matyjewicz, “including diet, tznius, davening, Shabbos and Yom Tov and end-of-life care.” Frum visitors can also be accommodated at the hospital and in the community. The Passaic-Clifton kehila has 30+ shuls for davening, with a number of them within walking distance of the hospital.”
St. Mary’s General Hospital—nationally recognized, locally preferred among the top hospitals in America for health, quality and patient safety! A center of excellence for maternal-child, the hospital has over 550 physicians and 1,200 employees, with every staff member committed to providing respectful, personalized, high-quality care—to satisfy patients’ needs and exceed their expectations. St. Mary’s General is a proud member of Prime Healthcare, which has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients for five consecutive years (2016-2020) than any other health system in the country including a “Top 15 Healthcare System” by Truven Health Analytics. To learn more about St. Mary’s General Hospital, visit https://www.smh-nj.com/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StMarysGeneral.
For more information, please contact George Matyjewicz, PhD, community liaison at [email protected].
1 https://mhanational.org/issues/2022/mental-health-america-adult-data 2022 Statistics of Mental Health in America
2 The current Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available to people in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, even after 988 is launched nationally.
3 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.
4 https://jewishlink.news/monthly-sections/health-link-new/43668-the-prime-health-care-consortium-s-psychiatry-residency-program certified by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
