Letter: Sagamore center saved daughter's life

I read "Bad news for LI's most troubled kids" [Opinion, Aug. 1] with horror and outrage. My daughter was a patient at Sagamore Children's Psychiatric Center for two extended hospitalizations when she was an adolescent. She was severely depressed and suicidal. Had she not had the hospital stays at Sagamore, she surely wouldn't have made it out of her adolescence alive.

My daughter was forced to wait as a patient at Nassau University Medical Center for eight weeks before her second admission to Sagamore, due to the wait for beds.

At Sagamore, she received intense therapy and consistent boundaries, and she was able to continue her schooling. We were able to learn how to help our daughter through a wonderful therapist. We were able to visit our daughter often due to the close location to our home in Nassau County.

I urge every parent, whether they have a mentally ill child or not, to please consider the ramifications of this closure and urge Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to reverse this decision. You never know when your seemingly healthy child will develop problems, and where a hospital like this could make all the difference.

Suzanne Dolgoff, Westbury