Breta Meria Conole was in a state psychiatric hospital for more than two decades. But the reason why is a family mystery.
Debby Hannigan, her great grandniece, tried for years to access Conole’s medical records, because she thought they might hold clues to mental health issues in her family, including her oldest daughter’s depression.
Hannigan twice wrote to the state of New York for the records. The second time she included a supporting note from her daughter’s therapist, who said the details would help “to know their family medical history better.” Both times she was turned away.
Her experience is hardly unique.
Frustrated family members and others have been pushing for law changes in New York and other states that would allow the release of mental health records of long-dead ancestors. Their efforts have resulted in access policy changes in some states, including Massachusetts and Washington, but elsewhere reforms are happening slowly or not at all.
