Thursday, May 08, 2003
Agency Adapts Innovative Treatment Model for Young Adults Mental Health Weekly article at
Medscape on the Our Town Integrated Service Agency (Our Town ISA) in Indiana - "The program is an adaptation of the pioneering and now 12-year-old Village ISA in Long Beach, Calif., which is run by the Mental Health Association in Los Angeles County and serves people with serious mental illness. Our Town's philosophy blends intensive case management according to an assertive community treatment (ACT) model with the 'strengths model' developed at the University of Kansas that emphasizes abilities and de-emphasizes disabilities. The goal of such programs is to enable people with serious mental illness to live in the most independent housing possible, engage in productive activity such as work or education, and make decisions for their lives day-to-day and for the long term." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Glaxo to Drop Antidepressant 'Non-Addictive' Claim Reuters Health story at
Yahoo - "GlaxoSmithKline confirmed on Tuesday it was proposing to drop claims on patient information leaflets saying its antidepressant Seroxat (paroxetine), known as Paxil in the U.S., is not addictive. A spokesman told Reuters Health the proposal had been made because the term was confusing to patients, and not because the company now accepted the drug could be addictive."
Cuts in Massachusetts Drug Treatment Could Mean More Crime Story at
JoinTogether - "A month after Massachusetts severely cut funding for drug-treatment programs, neighborhoods are seeing a rise in crime, the
New Bedford Standard-Times reported April 27. ... As a result of budget cuts, addicted individuals undergoing treatment lost their MassHealth insurance on April 1. Without the state insurance, many are unable to afford the cost of rehab programs at local clinics."
U.S. Lags in Treating Mental Illness Story at
HealthScout on new research published in the journal
Health Affairs - "The United States has a greater percentage of mentally ill citizens than some other countries but typically provides less treatment for their problems, new research has found. The study, which compared five nations in the Americas and Europe, found the United States had the highest prevalence of people who report some form of emotional trouble, at nearly 30 percent." See also the article in
Health Affairs,
Common Concerns Amid Diverse Systems: Health Care Experiences In Five Countries (
Adobe Acrobat).
Human services chief laments loss of funding (Pennsylvania) Story in
The Citizens Voice - "Luzerne County Human Services Director Joseph Loftus-Vergari came to Wednesday's meeting of the county commissioners and reported that state budget cuts are 'devastating' county human service programs. .... and are 'targeted' to specific areas, including drug and alcohol, mental health and human services development programs."
Psych unit closing is possible (New Jersey) Story at
NorthJersey.com - "The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood may close its psychiatric unit and use the beds for other patients, a proposal that troubles mental health advocates who say services in the community are already stretched too thin. The 19-bed psychiatric unit is underused and the hospital needs the space for medical and surgical patients crowding its emergency room, Valley officials said."
Patients suffer when mental health services switched Reuters story - "Health insurance programs that use subcontractors to provide mental health services may be saving money at the expense of patient care, researchers said on Wednesday. Duke University researchers looked at what happened when Tennessee's Medicaid program subcontracted, or 'carved out,' its mental health treatment programs in 1996. They found that the number of people not getting the treatment they needed increased by 18 percent." See also
Transition to mental health carveouts disrupts care for most fragile, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center press release about a study in the May 8 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine that "describes the disruptive effects that a transition to a mental health 'carveout' system in Tennessee had on antipsychotic therapy for people with schizophrenia, and how lessons about the chaotic transition could help other states' programs."
Local mental health facilities in desperate state, officials say (Canada) London Free Press story - "Growing waiting lists, cuts in services and continued neglect mean there is nothing to celebrate in London during mental health week, say local officials." Michael Petrenko, executive director of the London-Middlesex branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, notes that "there has been no increase in money in the past 10 years for community-based mental health services."
