Murphy To Host Mental Health Roundtable in Mansfield

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) will host a roundtable discussion Friday with mental health professionals, providers, and clients, as well as professors and advocates from the University of Connecticut, to discuss the importance of addressing mental health prevention, intervention and treatment.

Murphy is seeking to learn about the concerns and needs of the Mansfield mental health advocacy community – and especially the UConn community – with the goal of bringing specific feedback back to Washington to support mental health efforts at a federal level, according to the senator’s office.

The meeting will being at 12:30 p.m. in the Community Room of Natchaug Hospital, 189 Storrs Rd. in Mansfield Center.

Among those expected to participate in the discussion are Mansfield Mayor Elizabeth Paterson, Natchaug Hospital Chief Medical Officer Deborah Weidner, Natchaug Hospital Associate Medical Director Dr. Paul Weigle, Dr. Jim O’Dea, Regional Director Behavioral Health of Hartford Healthcare, Diane Manning of United Services, Dr. James A. Green, Head of the UConn Psych Department, John O’Keefe, vice president of Patient Services at Day Kimball Hospital, Al Vario, director of Behavioral Health Services at Day Kimball Hospital, Heather Bonitz-Moore of United Community and Family Services, and Dr. Surita Rao, Service Medical Director of the Whiting Forensic Division at Connecticut Valley Hospital.

The discussion on Friday is one of a series of meetings that Murphy, a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, has organized to discuss what the federal government should do to support individuals who face mental health challenges, especially students.

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