Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Dedicated inpatient unit for homeless seriously mentally ill improves housing stability (UK)
Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "Providing a specific inpatient ward for people with serious mental illness who are homeless encouraged their admission to hospital and led to improved engagement with psychiatric services and increased stability in their housing, according to an article in the Journal of Mental Health. Clients of the Focus Homeless Outreach Team in inner-city London, England were admitted to either a designated 12-bed inpatient unit or any acute admission ward within the area served by the team. The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether the clients who were admitted to the designated ward received more carefully coordinated discharge plans which increased their engagement with the team and resulted in greater housing stability 12 months after discharge from hospital."  
  

VA Hospitals Beat National Average in Overall Quality of Care
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Veterans Health Administration hospitals score better than national averages in overall quality of care, chronic disease care, and preventive care, according to a report in the December 21st Annals of Internal Medicine. ... Dr. Asch and colleagues compared the overall quality of care delivered in the VHA system and in the United States, as well as the quality of acute, chronic, and preventive care across 26 conditions." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Treatment resources strained (Kentucky)
Courier Journal story - "Meth is further straining Kentucky and Indiana's underfunded systems for treating drug addicts and alcoholics, according to state officials, treatment advocates and others. Kentucky addicts face months-long waits to get into public and private treatment centers, including Park Place, a residential center in Bowling Green with a 60-day wait for one of 28 beds. ... Nearly 270,000 Kentuckians have a problem with alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medicine such as the painkiller OxyContin, a recent state survey found..." See also Cash-strapped system helps addicts at the same source.  
  

Complaints flare over mental health care for soldiers
Story in The State - "The psychological toll from the war in Iraq is climbing, according to new research and experts who cite the severe stress of fighting a deadly insurgency. Though the Pentagon says mental health care, including battlefield counseling, is expanding, critics counter that military suicides and post-traumatic stress disorder cases have exposed gaps in how treatment is delivered to soldiers. ... The Army's director of mental health policy, Col. Tom Burke, a psychiatrist, said the military has gotten much better at providing care and treatment - for example, offering more counseling when some soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., killed their wives after coming home from service in Afghanistan in 2002. But the stigma that psychological treatment carries is harder to address."  
  

Mental illness care report ready (Pennsylvania)
Story in The Sentinel - " A panel formed last year to study the area's ability to take care of drug abusers and the mentally ill will present its findings next month. Carlisle Area Health and Wellness Foundation impaneled the behavioral health task force after a foundation survey in 2002 turned up a need for more services. Task Force Chairman Perry Heath says the report will suggest specific programs that can be implemented quickly as well as 'systemic changes' that could take years to put in place..."  
  

Short session likely to limit mental health debate (Virginia)
Daily Press story - "Virginia's mental health care system is plagued by bed shortages, aging state hospitals and inadequate staffing. Faced with all that, the short 2005 session of the General Assembly is likely to narrow its focus to critical funding issues such as building maintenance and save the fundamental questions for 2006. 'It's not going to be an easy fix, and it's not going to be an inexpensive fix,' said Del. Phil Hamilton, chairman of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee. Still, advocates for the mentally ill hold out hope that the 46-day session will yield small improvements to what they say is a chronically underfunded system and begin to discuss issues related to the state's shift from institutionalized care to community-based care..."