Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Developing the Support in Supportive Housing: A Guide to Providing Services in Housing A 211-page manual, in
Adobe Acrobat format, produced by the Center for Urban and Community Services - "Drawing on CUCS' two decades of supportive housing experience and knowledge gathered from organizations around the country, the authors offer practical approaches to program design, staffing, service delivery, community building, conflict resolution, mental health, HIV/AIDS, and substance use. The guide also provides annotated bibliographies and links to a range of Web sites."
Study Finds Vermont's Parity Law Effective Story at the
Join Together web site - "As the U.S. Congress debates a behavioral healthcare parity law, a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) study shows that Vermont's mental-health parity law is effective in controlling costs, the Associated Press reported Sept. 4. Vermont's parity law took effect in 1998, requiring insurance companies to provide coverage for mental-health services at the same levels as physical health coverage. The SAMHSA study found that in the first two years after the parity law took effect, mental-health and addiction treatment spending in Vermont dropped by 8 to 18 percent." See also the
AP story, which originally appeared in the
Times-Argus.
More Evidence Links Statins and Decreased Risk of Depression Reuters Health story at
Medscape - "Current statin use is associated with a lower risk of developing depression, investigators report in the September 8th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, adding to published evidence that statin use does not adversely impact psychological well-being. Dr. Susan S. Jick and colleagues at Boston University School of Medicine in Lexington, Massachusetts, propose that the relationship is mediated by improved quality of life among patients taking a statin. Their report follows another that suggests statins may reduce the risk of psychological disorders, independently of statins' impact on serum cholesterol levels." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
SAMHSA's Latest National Survey providing prevalences of substance use in the U.S Page at the SAMHSA web site indexing documents and resources related to the National Survey on Drug Use & Health (formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse), "the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older." See, especially, the
press release, the Overview (in either
web or
Acrobat formats), the results (also in
web and
Acrobat formats) and the chapter in the report,
Prevalence and Treatment of Mental Health Problems.
Neighborhood Residence Tied To Mental Health Center for the Advancement of Health press release at
InteliHealth - "A new study of an innovative federal housing program found that parents who moved to neighborhoods with low levels of poverty reported significantly less mental distress than parents who remained in high-poverty areas."
SETON will step in to care for mental health needs (Texas) Story at
News8Austin.com - "The SETON Healthcare Network is stepping up to the plate to make up for state budget cuts in mental health services. The private sector will pay for a program the state once paid for. State budget cuts in the last regular legislative session eliminated the Psychiatric Residency Program, but SETON officials announced they will take responsibility for training future psychiatrists to care for a growing population of mentally ill patients. SETON officials announced Monday they're stepping in to keep Central Texas' only psychiatric residency program. They'll spend between $750,000 to $1 million a year to do it."
Crisis unit proves itself in saving money, lives (Colorado) Story in the
Craig Daily Press- "Moffat County residents who find themselves or a loved one in a mental health crisis may avoid a lengthy trip to the state hospital in Pueblo thanks to a crisis stabilization unit at the Public Safety Center. The program has been in operation for almost a year now and was originally funded by grants from the state. Essentially, the crisis stabilization unit is a program that aims to help people recover from an acute mental health crisis before they have to be transported to an out-of-town mental health facility."
Coalition says private operator not appropriate for mental health and addictions facility (Canada)
Canada Newswire press release - "The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) and partners warned the City of Toronto Planning Committee today that plans for redeveloping the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as a private corporation could harm the city's interests and put the mental health of its citizens at risk. The OHC says the amalgamated Queen Street, Clarke Institute and Donwood, now known as CAMH, should remain publicly owned and not for profit. The current CAMH board plans to run CAMH as a private-public partnership."
Mental health care plan raises eyebrows (Virginia) Daily Press story - "Key senators said Monday that the Warner administration should pay more attention to its sales pitch when it comes to a controversial plan to downsize Eastern State Hospital. Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, said he's not sure the administration is doing everything possible to reach out to affected groups - including lawmakers who control the purse strings."
