New York State Department of Mental Hygiene

The New York State Department of Mental Hygiene was founded in 1926 as part of a restructuring of the New York state government. This department was given responsibility for people diagnosed with mental retardation, mental illness or epilepsy.^[1]

Dr. Frederick W. Parsons was appointed the first department Commissioner in January, 1927.^[2] He was replaced by Dr. William J. Tiffany in 1937, who then resigned in 1943 over an investigation into handling of an outbreak of amoebic dysentery at Creedmoor State Hospital.^[3] By 1950, the department had grown into the largest agency of the New York state government, with more than 24,000 employees and an operating cost exceeding a third of the state budget.^[4]

The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (OASAS) was transferred from the Department of Health to the Department of Mental Hygiene in 1962.^[5] In 1978, the Department of Mental Hygiene was reorganized into the autonomous Office of Mental Health (OMH), the Office of the Mental Retarded and the Developmentally Disabled (OMRDD), and the OASAS. These three offices are headed up by a Commissioner who also serves on a council that performs inter-office coordination.^[1]

Commissioners

• 1927–1937, Frederick W. Parsons^[2]
• 1937–1943, William J. Tiffany^[3]
• 1943–1950, Frederick MacCurdy^[6]
• 1950–1954, Newton Bigelow^[7]
• 1955–1964, Paul H. Hoch^[8]
• 1966–1974, Alan D. Miller^[9]
• 1975–?, Lawrence C. Kolb^[10]
• 1978–1982, James A. Prevost^[11]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ward, Robert B. (2006). New York State government. Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series (2nd ed.). SUNY Press. pp. 328–329. ISBN 1930912161. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Frederick W. Parsons—An appreciation". Psychiatric Quarterly 11 (4): 694–696. doi:10.1007/BF01562891. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Castellani, Paul J. (2005). From snake pits to cash cows: politics and public institutions in New York. SUNY Press. p. 31. ISBN 0791464393. http://books.google.com/books?id=6fRvCatIe9oC&pg=PA31. 
4. ^ Pressman, Jack D. (2002). Last Resort: Psychosurgery and the Limits of Medicine. Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521524598. http://books.google.com/books?id=_7PEgVCPDh8C&pg=PA171. 
5. ^ Pecorella, Robert F.; Stonecash, Jeffrey M. (2006). Governing New York State (5th ed.). SUNY Press. pp. 335–336. ISBN 0791466914. 
6. ^ Brooks, Clayton McClure (2008). A legacy of leadership: governors and American history. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 71. ISBN 0812240944. 
7. ^ "Newton Bigelow, 87, Mental Health Official". The New York Times. February 9, 1991. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/09/obituaries/newton-bigelow-87-mental-health-official.html. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
8. ^ "In memoriam, Paul H. Hoch, M.D.". Psychiatric Quarterly 39 (1): 140–141. doi:10.1007/BF01569455. 
9. ^ "Alan D. Miller, M.D., M.P.H.". Psychiatric Quarterly 40 (1): 394. doi:10.1007/BF01562768. 
10. ^ Carey, Benedict (October 28, 2006). "Lawrence C. Kolb, 95, Leader In Mental Health Movement". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E0DC153FF93BA15753C1A9609C8B63. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
11. ^ "James A. Prevost, 58, Mental Health Leader". The New York Times. June 03, 1993. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/03/obituaries/james-a-prevost-58-mental-health-leader.html. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 

Further reading

• "The Policy Revolution, 1945–1965". Mental Health in New York State, 1945–1998. New York State Archives, New York State Education Department. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_health_mh_hist_policyrev.shtml. Retrieved 2011-05-19.