Thursday, January 09, 2003

20 Priority Areas Noted for Health Care
AP story at ABC News on a set of priorities for Congress urged by the Institute of Medicine. Included in the list are major depression and "severe and persistent mental illness; improving mental health care in the public sector, including state hospitals and community centers."  
  

NAMIWalks for the Mind of America 2003
Information at the NAMI web site about NAMIWALKS 2003 - "In May 2003, thousands of concerned citizens in 13 communities across the nation will march together to raise money and awareness about our country’s need for a world-class treatment and recovery system for people with mental illness."  
  

Maker to Withdraw Antidepressant Dutonin in Europe
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "UK regulators said on Wednesday that Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to stop selling its anti-depression drug Dutonin (nefazodone) in all European countries where it is marketed. The product has already been discontinued in Sweden, and, earlier this week, the company's Dutch subsidiary said it would stop commercializing it in Holland in April following a review of its risk/benefit profile by the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board."  
  

Mental health lays off a third of staff (California)
Story at the Union Democrat - "Forty of the 120 employees at Kings View Behavioral Health, the mental health services provider for Tuolumne County, were laid off Tuesday. The layoff is a result of a $35 billion deficit in the state budget, and while Gov. Gray Davis has said no area of government will escape budget cuts, mental health services throughout the state are already taking huge hits."  
  

Concerns raised over number of mental health unit escapes (New Zealand)
Story at Stuff - "Police are concerned about the number of patients absconding from Nelson's acute mental health unit, with more than 130 leaving without permission last year."  
  

'Innovative' mental health clinic to close (UK)
BBC story on The Horizon Clinic in Bradford, which "has been earmarked for closure despite being praised in a national report."  
  

Hundreds protest cuts in safety net (Oregon)
Story in The Oregonian - "Hundreds of protesters -- recovering drug and alcohol addicts, people with mental illnesses, their advocates and others -- took one message to the Capitol steps Wednesday: Stop cuts that threaten our health and sobriety."  
  

Advocate 'dismayed' that cabinet for children will be merged (West Virginia)
Gazette Online story - "As part of his plan to restructure state government and save money, Gov. Bob Wise on Wednesday said he would ask the Legislature to merge his Cabinet on Children and Families with the state Department of Health and Human Resources."  
  

Mental-Health Agency Off Hit List (Connecticut)
Hartford Courant story on the rescinding of plans to shut down Middlesex County's lead mental-health authority.