November 2015 - Links to additional articles, videos, and information from around the nation
The Des Moines Register: Judge: Branstad Can Be Sued For Mental Hospital Closure
Democratic legislators and the leader of the state workers’ union have the right to sue Gov. Terry Branstad over his closure of two state mental hospitals, a judge has ruled. Branstad ordered in January that the state mental hospitals at Clarinda and Mount Pleasant be closed by mid-summer. He contends the facilities were outdated and inefficient, but critics say he put patients at risk by moving too quickly to shutter the hospitals before adequate alternatives were in place. (Leys, 9/21)
Reuters: 2nd Circuit Urged To Revive Psychiatrists' Case Against Anthem
A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday weighed whether to revive a lawsuit filed by the American Psychiatric Association and individual psychiatrists accusing a healthcare insurer of discriminating against patients with mental health conditions. The APA sued Anthem Health Plans Inc and its affiliates in 2013, claiming its policies were designed to pay less for mental health treatments than more general medical care. For example, Anthem allegedly did not allow psychiatrists to bill for psychotherapy on the same days they provided non-mental-health services. (Pierson, 9/21)
The Homeless Emergency
Homelessness has been surging in L.A., up 12% since Mayor Eric Garcetti took office two years ago. On Tuesday, he and seven City Council members said they would declare a "state of emergency" and devote up to $100 million to the problem. But where would the money come from? Plus: See how the problem got so big and where the homeless population is concentrated on our interactive map.
The Austin American-Statesman: Judge Blocks Texas From Slashing Medicaid For Disabled Children
A Travis County judge said Tuesday he will block the state from cutting $350 million in Medicaid funding scheduled to take effect on Oct. 1. After two days of testimony, state District Judge Tim Sulak said the cuts represented an “imminent and irreparable injury” to children with disabilities. Parents told the judge the cuts would put their children’s therapy providers out of business. (East, 9/22)
Kaiser Health News: Stemming The Cycle Of Toxic Stress – For The Kids’ Sake
Samantha McVey brought her 4-month-old daughter, Ruby, to The Children’s Clinic for a routine check-up and vaccinations. But within minutes of sitting down with Dr. R.J. Gillespie, McVey was describing her turbulent childhood with a drug-addicted father who spent time in prison. “How do you think that affects your parenting now?” Gillespie asked. "I don’t want my kids to have to go through that," said McVey, 23. (Gorman, 9/23)
Roll Call: Patients' Rights Questions Hang Over Mental Health Debate
WLFI.com: MHA of Tippecanoe Showcases Photo Exhibit on Mental Illness
New York Times: Head of Mental Health Institute Leaving for Google Life Sciences
CNN: Is Mental Health Parity Law Fulfilling its Promise?
Newsweek: America’s Biggest Gun Problem is Suicide
Forbes: Psychiatrist Shortage Worsens Amid 'Mental Health Crisis'
Jails are no place for the mentally ill. I was lucky to get out.By Justin Volpe
Housing people with serious mental illness in prison is dangerous, expensive and ineffective.Read full article»
The Associated Press: Cleveland Police To Get Enhanced Training On Mental Health
Cleveland officers will receive enhanced training on how to deal with people during mental health crises, a requirement in the city’s agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to reform its trouble police department, officials announced Wednesday. (Gillispie, 9/23)
The Associated Press: Cleveland Police To Get Enhanced Training On Mental Health
Cleveland officers will receive enhanced training on how to deal with people during mental health crises, a requirement in the city’s agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to reform its trouble police department, officials announced Wednesday. (Gillispie, 9/23)
Northeast Ohio Media Group: Cleveland Inks Deal To Improve Police Response To Mental Health Crises
More than nine months after a federal investigation found Cleveland police too often use cruel and unnecessary force against people suffering from mental illness, the city has inked a deal to improve the way officers respond to mental health crises. Mayor Frank Jackson announced Wednesday a memorandum of understanding with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County that aims to improve how police care for people with mental illness. (Blackwell, 9/23)
Wyoming Public Radio: When Deciding To Live Means Avoiding Guns
When you're managing a mental health issue, home's not always a safe place. I recently talked with a 23-year-old in Oakland, Calif., who says he's worried about an upcoming visit to his aunt's home on the East Coast. He's afraid of what he might do to himself there. "I know that in my aunt's house there are three guns in the basement," says the young man, who asked that NPR not use his name. (Meagley, 9/24)
The New York Times: In Unit Stalked By Suicide, Veterans Try to Save One Another
The deaths started a few months after the Marines returned from the war in Afghanistan. A corporal put on his dress uniform and shot himself in his driveway. A former sergeant shot himself in front of his girlfriend and mother. An ex-sniper who pushed others to seek help for post-traumatic stress disorder shot himself while alone in his apartment. The problem has grown over time. More men from the battalion killed themselves in 2014 — four — than in any previous year. Veterans of the unit, tightly connected by social media, sometimes learn of the deaths nearly as soon as they happen. In November, a 2/7 veteran of three combat tours posted a photo of his pistol on Snapchat with a note saying, “I miss you all.” Minutes later, he killed himself. (Dave Philipps, 9/19)
The American-Statesman: McDermott: Early Mental Health Intervention Crucial For Kids And Teens
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) approximately 50 percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by 14; yet the average delay between onset of symptoms and receiving treatment is eight to 10 years. Like all illnesses, if left untreated these disorders can worsen and create obstacles to a child’s development and success. ... we can lighten the load for families in our community affected by mental illness by educating and supporting overwhelmed parents, schools and teens. (Louise McDermott, 9/23)
The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Mental Health Advocates Question 72-Hour Involuntary Hold Proposal
Several advocates for people with mental illness on Wednesday panned a proposal that would allow treatment facilities to hold people in crisis situations for up to 72 hours as involuntary patients. “This is a deprivation of liberty,” Mike Burgess, a spokesperson with the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, said during a meeting of the Kansas Mental Health Coalition. It would be better, he said, to expand access to voluntary treatment. (Ranney, 9/24)
Health News Florida: Isolation Increases Florida's Rural Suicide Rates
Florida's rural counties are seeing suicide rates for youth almost double that of the state's large cities. And experts say isolation, poverty, access to firearms and a lack of mental health resources are to blame. ... the teen suicide rate in Florida's small towns has doubled in the past 20 years. From 2012 through 2014, almost 8,000 youth younger than 21 killed themselves in Florida. Of those, 520 come from rural communities -- a significant number given their populations. Also, experts say the number of teen suicides could be much higher, in part because medical examiners and law enforcement don't have an objective set of criteria to decide whether to label a death as suicide. (Miller and Klingener, 9/24)
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Health Day: ERs Often 'Safety Net' Care For People With Schizophrenia: CDC
A new report finds that, too often, under-medicated Americans suffering from schizophrenia end up seeking care in the nation's hospital emergency rooms. The report, issued Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that between 2009 and 2011, over 382,000 visits to ERs were recorded for people aged 18 to 64 with schizophrenia. (9/23)
The Associated Press: Report: Oklahoma Among Lowest In Funding For Mental Health
Oklahoma ranks 46th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in funding for mental health issues, according to a new report. The report, funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, says Oklahoma spends $56.22 per capita on mental health - less than every state and D.C. except Kentucky, Idaho, Florida, Arkansas and Georgia. (9/27)
Los Angeles Times: His 83-Year-Old Wife Jumped To Her Death From A Kaiser Clinic — Why?
[T]he 83-year-old longtime Kaiser patient was distraught: The drugs had proved ineffective for her depression, and her next psychiatric appointment was weeks away, a wait she told her family felt interminable. When she stepped off the roof and fell to her death, her suicide stunned onlookers — but was really directed, her husband believes, at her healthcare provider. "She could have jumped anywhere, but she went right to Kaiser," said [Barbara] Ragan's husband, Denny. "It's like sending a message right to them: 'You couldn't take care of me, so here I am.'" The Oakland-based health maintenance organization has battled accusations for more than two years that its mental health services put patients at risk. Now Ragan's suicide has increased scrutiny of the giant healthcare provider, which last year paid a $4-million fine to resolve allegations by the state Department of Managed Health Care that it inadequately treated mental health patients. (Pfeifer, 9/26)
The Chicago Tribune: Legislation Aims To Improve Access To Care For Mentally Ill Children
New legislation signed recently by Gov. Bruce Rauner aims to give severely mentally ill children better access to residential treatment and intensive community services. The measure moves the Individual Care Grant program — the main funding source for families struggling to afford treatment — from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which should create more flexibility and efficiency, lawmakers said. (Miller Rubin, 9/28)
Los Angeles Times: Ex-Inmates Want L.A. County To Stop Dumping Mentally Ill Inmates On Skid Row
A group of former Los Angeles County jail inmates said Monday that a recent legal settlement between the Sheriff's Department and federal authorities will perpetuate the cycle of people with untreated mental illness bouncing back and forth between jail and skid row. The former inmates are seeking changes in the settlement that was reached this year as part of an effort to end abuse of inmates by sheriff's deputies and to improve chronically poor treatment of mentally ill inmates. (Sewell and Change, 9/28)
Plan Offers New Hope for Housing the Homeless
“The Deadly Consequences when Police Lack Proper Training to Handle Mental Illness Calls”
Earlier this year, ABC Nightline came to San Antonio to do a ride-along with the Joe Smarro and Ernie Stevens of the Bexar County Mental Health Unit and to interview Leon Evans about The Restoration Center – more specifically about the collaboration between the various agencies and the impact on Bexar County.
During the visit, Nightline ended up capturing so much great footage with the Mental Health Unit that they had to sacrifice other elements including the interview with Leon Evans. The piece titled “The Deadly Consequences when Police Lack Proper Training to Handle Mental Illness Calls” speaks to San Antonio as an example of a community that has revolutionized policing.
The Washington Post: Jails Are No Place For The Mentally Ill. I Was Lucky To Get Out.
I went to jail in 2007, around the time that Miami-Dade County Judge Steven Leifman succeeded in encouraging more comprehensive coordination between law enforcement and behavioral health treatment centers. After 46 days in jail, the resident psychiatrist identified me as having a mental illness and transferred me to a hospital. Case workers there deemed me eligible for the program, which puts people who aren’t considered a public safety threat into community-based treatment and offers mental health and drug addiction services. Without that program, I’m not sure where I would have ended up. (Justin Volpe, 9/23)
The Baltimore Sun: Johns Hopkins Part Of $100M Initiative To Study The Brain
Johns Hopkins University will participate in what President Barack Obama called “the next great American project,” creating an institute for neuroscience research aimed at mapping the brain and perhaps finding cures for its many mysterious ailments. The institute is one of three that will be opened as part of a $100 million collaborative effort, funded largely by one of the private investors behind the Obama Administration's BRAIN Initiative, aimed at developing a better understanding of how the human brain works. (McDaniels, 10/1)
"Is This the Kind of Country We Want to Be?"- guest commentary
"There has probably never been a worse place and worse time to have a severe mental illness than now in the US," writes Dr. Allen Frances in the Psychiatric Times. "Most countries in the rest of the developed world take much better care of their severely ill. We can do better and, if we are to avoid being ashamed of our country, we must."READ IT ALL...
"Inmate Dies in Jail after Being Strapped to Restraint Chair for Nine Hours"
Veronica Yearby wants justice for her son, David – a 27-year-old diagnosed with bipolar disorder who died in a New Jersey jail after he was maced, beaten, hooded, and strapped in a restraint chair for nine hours, according to a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed this week.READ IT ALL...
"A Decade Later, Skid Row Still 'a Human Catastrophe Unfolding'"
A group of former jail inmates this week sought changes to a recent settlement they say fails to require adequate services for mentally ill and homeless inmates after their release, and perpetuates the cycle in which people with untreated mental illness bounce back and forth between jail and Skid Row in Los Angeles County.READ IT ALL...
Keep the Light on Mental Health"- guest commentary
"Too many of us share in the pain of parents who struggled to help young adult children with mental illness and are now working through grief after their suicides," writes the Staunton News Leader editorial board. "Virginia must enact legislation and keep working to improve a mental health system that is overburdened, too often to the tragic point of failure."READ IT ALL...
"Mentally Ill Man Slain by Minnesota Police Wanted Help, Family Says"
After a long struggle with schizophrenia that had led to numerous run-ins with the law, Philip Quinn was suicidal and off his prescribed medication last week when his fiancée called 911. But Quinn’s family says that call for help quickly turned into their worst nightmare when responding officers fatally shot and killed their loved one.READ IT ALL...
Jamycheal Mitchell’s Ghastly Death
Building an artificial brain Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen embarks on a $500 million quest to dissect the mind and code a new one from scratch. Read more»
Wellmark to sell policies on Obamacare Exchange in 2017
USA Today: Groups Call On Congress To Reform Mental Health System
A day after a mass shooting in Oregon, 23 mental health groups are calling on Congress to pass legislation aimed at repairing the USA's broken mental health system. The groups delivered a letter to congressional leaders Thursday, just hours before the attack at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. left 10 people dead. The shooting was the latest in a series of mass killings perpetrated by unstable young men, many of whom were mentally ill. (Szabo, 10/2)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog: If You Want Mental Health Services To Prevent Violence, Medicaid Expansion Is Critical
Oregon’s mass homicide sparked the usual debate about whether guns or mental health is the best focus in preventing atrocities. ... Many conservatives place greater emphasis on the mental health system. In some ways, this rhetoric is misplaced. The fraction of American violence attributable to severe mental illness is quite low, on the order of five percent. We must also avoid reinforcing cruel stereotypes regarding millions of Americans who live with major depression, bipolar disorders, or related conditions. Still, it’s always wise to consider how our mental health systems could treat people more effectively, and more-reliably keep weapons away from dangerous individuals. (Harold Pollack, 10/2)