She’s only two weeks into her new role in the Orange County Legislature, but County Legislator Laurie Tautel, the new head of the county’s Legislative Health and Mental Health Committee, already has plans.

Tautel received the assignment from new Legislature Chairman Kevin Hines about a week after the legislature’s January 2 reorganization meeting. To say she was thrilled is an understatement.

“I was surprised, very grateful, and, yes, thrilled,” Tautel said last week. “I am very passionate about helping people achieve good health and, especially, good mental health.”

She thanked Hines, a Republican, for the appointment, and lauded his foresight in naming four women, two of them Democratic women (including herself) as committee chairs.

There are eight other county legislators on the committee, including Peter Tuohy, the former chair. They are: Michael Amo, Katherine Bonelli, Janet Sutherland, Glenn Ehlers, Genesis Ramos and Ronald Feller. The committee works closely with not only Hines, but also the Commissioner of Social Services and Mental Health Lacey Trimble, Laurence LaDue, Commissioner of Valley View Center (a county-run nursing facility), and Dr. Jennifer Roman, the county’s medical examiner and acting commissioner of health.

Tautel, who has served on the committee for the last several years, says she’ll need the help of all of those folks to help reach several of her goals. “I’ve got some ambitious plans,” she said.
So, what are they?

First, she wants to help squash the stigma of seeking mental health care for people her own age – early 50’s. “I think that sometimes people feel like they have failed in some way and don’t seek out mental health help,” she said. “Doing so is absolutely no different than seeking help for high blood pressure or diabetes.” As part of her committee work, she’ll help oversee county-operated mental health clinics, including the 23 that are now located within the walls of Orange County Schools, including the Highland Falls Intermediate School and O’Neill High School. Tautel is a Fort Montgomery resident and is thrilled that her home district is participating in this initiative. “I pushed so hard to help get help into this community,” she said.

The county’s three mental health clinics, by the way, are in Newburgh, Goshen and Middletown.

She notes that often getting mental health help can help a person’s physical health, and vice versa – poor mental health can impact physical health. Tautel is glad that the pandemic brought telehealth appointments with mental health workers into public view and urges people to take advantage of that if they aren’t interested in physically meeting with a therapist.

But, second on her list of goals is better access to mental health services to those who need them. She reminds all of 988, the national suicide-prevention hotline. When a person in Orange County calls that number it will connect them, 24/7, to the county’s crisis center. She also said that the county has mobile mental health units who will travel to help those who need it immediately.

The plight of homeless people in the county, and others who don’t have access to any health care also is always with her. That said, to help county residents have fingertip access to all sorts of services, including mental and physical health services, she encourages all to download the Orange County NY Health app on their smartphone (available in the various App Stores).

“There are great resources there,” she said, “like clinic hours, vaccination clinics, ways to get various screenings, how to get your home inspected for lead, and more.”

Another goal is to find more health and mental health professionals to work in Orange County, particularly for the county, but everywhere. “We’re having a problem finding and retaining practitioners, as are private clinics,” she said. “Therapists are getting burnt out with huge caseloads.”

She expects the year to go quickly, and knows that the committee chair position does mean more work for her. She’s fine with that.

“My personal and professional experience with both health and mental health will provide me with the insight needed to make significant advancements in these areas,” she said on social media last week. “I look forward to serving in this capacity and appreciate the opportunity to make a difference in our communities.”

Information about all the Legislature’s meetings, including the meetings of the dozen or so committees, as well as videos, agendas and minutes, can be found at orangecountygov.com/903/Legislature. To reach Tautel directly, email her at ltautel@orangecountygov.com.

“Let’s get the ideas going,” she said. “People, all people, matter.”