Monday, November 01, 2004

NAMI Alert: Concerns being Raised about Access at the Polls on November 2
Alert at the NAMI web site - "As we all know, Tuesday is Election Day. As a result of press reports, concern is growing among national disability advocacy organizations about organized efforts to challenge voting by people with mental impairments at polling places across the nation. In particular, concerns are being raised about on-site challenges against people with mental disabilities who need assistance at polling places, i.e. individuals who need the direct assistance of a family member or close friend in voting. Such challenges are more likely in cases where consumers arrive at polling places in groups through the assistance of a community-based program such as a group home, residential program or clubhouse. In most instances, such challenges raised directly at a polling place are in violation of specific legal requirements protecting the right to vote..."  
  

Stretching State Health Care Dollars During Difficult Economic Times: Overview
Report by the Commonwealth Fund - "This study's set of four interrelated reports, prepared by health policy analysts at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), identifies and describes many of these innovations that may help other states use their own health care dollars more productively. Each report studied a different type of model. While certainly not exhaustive, the reports do illustrate the leading mechanisms—along with specific examples—of state initiatives that are already stretching dollars through greater sharing of responsibility, more effective purchasing, better management of diseases, and promotion of cost-effective primary and preventive care." The four reports are Building on Employer-Based Coverage, Pooled and Evidence-Based Pharmaceutical Purchasing, Targeted Care Management to Enhance Cost-Effectiveness and Innovative Use of Uncompensated Care Funds.  
  

Is Kaiser the Future of American Health Care?
New York Times story on the Kaiser Permanente business model - "High-level visitors from across the political spectrum - the Bush administration and National Health Service of Britain, for example - are coming to California these days to look at Kaiser as an institution that is actually doing some of the things needed to improve health care. Obviously, there is no single model for revamping the nation's costly, disjointed health care system, and Kaiser certainly has its share of problems. But according to economists and medical experts, Kaiser is a leader in the drive both to increase the quality of care and to spend health dollars more wisely, using technology and incentives tailored to those goals." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Pediatricians Fail to Recognize Teen Substance Abusers
Health Day News story - "Pediatricians may think they know whether a teenage patient is using alcohol or drugs and to what extent, but a new study finds doctors greatly misjudge the problem. More than 60 percent of the time, pediatricians knew their young patients had used alcohol or drugs, but in most cases the doctors thought the problem was less severe than it actually was, the study found. ... The study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, appears in the November issue of Pediatrics." See also the article in Pediatrics, "Are Clinical Impressions of Adolescent Substance Use Accurate?" which is also available in Adobe Acrobat format.  
  

Homeless political battle heating up (Canada)
CBC News British Columbia story - "Vancouver city council and the provincial government are squaring off over a new city report showing the number of homeless people has more than doubled since the Liberals were elected in 2001. The city's Homeless Action Plan shows that – depending on the season – there are as many as 1,200 people living on Vancouver's streets. The draft report by staff says when the Liberals swept to power, there were 500 homeless people in Vancouver at most. The report blames a lack of provincial funds for housing, mental health services and addiction counselling. It also says the province's new welfare rules have pushed people onto the streets." See also the sity's Homeless Action Plan (Adobe Acrobat format).  
  

Mental Disorders Rife in Assisted Living Homes
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "Behavioral symptoms and mental health problems are prevalent among elderly individuals living in facilities that provide residential care or assisted living, new study results suggest. 'Exploring behavioral symptoms in residential care/assisted living facilities may ... help planners design appropriate environments, and ultimately improve residents' and their caregivers' quality of life,' Dr. Ann L. and colleagues suggest in their article in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society..."  
  

Question calls for increasing substance abuse programs (Illinois)
Wilmette Life story - "An advisory referendum that calls for increased state funding of alcohol and drug abuse programs will appear on Cook County ballots Tuesday, though Citizens Activated to Challenge Healthcare, a coalition of 67 agencies, failed to collect enough signatures to put the question before every Illinois voter. Sara Moscato, of the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association, said more than 100,000 signatures were collected during a nine-month period, though the number was short of the 300,000 needed to place the referendum on ballots in every Illinois precinct. The coalition calls the ballot question the 'treatment on demand initiative,' to provide state residents greater access to substance abuse treatment regardless of their economic status."  
  

Larimer County takes lead in mental health treatment (Colorado)
North Forty News story - "Throughout Colorado, people are looking to Larimer County for new, innovative ideas. The issue: effective diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and substance abuse. Led by the Health District of Northern Larimer County, community leaders from many areas have joined together to address these concerns, and the ideas they have developed are now models for other counties in the state. ... The project, called the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Partnership, is now in its fifth year. It is a collaboration of more than 30 agencies, all facing tight budgets and increased demands for services. The group already has some programs up and running, while others are still on the drawing board. Two innovative programs are slated to begin early in 2005."  
  

Mental Health Report Deserves Prompt Action (Michigan)
Detroit News editorial - "Expert panel examines shortcomings and proposes solutions for ineffective state mental health system Michigan's sprawling, expensive mental health system needs a thorough overhaul to make it easier for patients and their families to obtain care. That's the conclusion of a new report issued by a special panel of experts. The panel was convened by the governor to examine the system following a series of reports in The Detroit News outlining its the defects. The report deserves prompt action by state government. Michigan, like the rest of the nation, began in the 1960s to move away from mental health care that hospitalized patients and toward a system that treated them on an outpatient basis. The report notes that the number of patients in state mental hospitals has declined from 20,000 to less than 1,000."  
  

$1.08M plan proposed to free up more mental health patient beds (Virginia)
Daily Press story - "Virginia's top mental health official says the shortage of beds for high-risk mental patients has reached 'a critical situation' in Hampton Roads and has proposed freeing up nearly $1.1 million in public funds along with other solutions. 'We need a concerted, collaborative plan of attack,' James Reinhard said in a recent letter to the heads of nine area community services boards and the director of Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg. Reinhard said the problem is 'getting our undivided attention' at the central office of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, where he is the commissioner..."  
  

Teamwork improves mental health care
"Guest viewpoint" column in the Guard-Register (Eugene OR) by Sandra Scheetz, regional director of behavioral health services for PeaceHealth, and Al Levine, division manager of Lane County Mental Health Services - "Our community has tackled a serious challenge head-on, and we deserve to be proud. Despite unprecedented adversity, our health care providers have done their best to meet needs for mental health support and services through an extraordinary and creative collaboration. The recession and the resulting decrease in tax revenue affected the mental health community in Lane County in a number of ways. Job losses left more residents indigent. Fewer people had health insurance and the Oregon Health Plan was cut drastically, so thousands of people lost outpatient mental health services, chemical dependency treatment and prescription benefits."