was published in late June and has already received a great deal of praise ("Brilliant" - Fran Silvestri, Director: International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership; "A triumphant inaugural issue" - Paul Lefkovitz, CEO: Behavioral Pathway Systems; "Very useful..." - Elaine Alfano, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law). The PQB comes bundled with two other services, the "PULSE Bulletin" (40 issues/year) and "Recent Resources" (10 issues /year) and organizational subscriptions include access to a set of Internet-based tools for distributing news and announcements. For details on subscriptions, please see the new
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Thursday, August 04, 2005
Leavitt Praises Governors on Medicaid AP story in the
Las Vegas Sun - "The nation's governors likely will play an influential role in federal efforts to slow the growth of Medicaid, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said. Leavitt has appointed a commission that will recommend to Congress short- and long-term changes to the program, which serves about 52 million Americans. The commission's first report is due Sept. 1. It will focus on ways to slow the health insurance program's growth by $10 billion over the next five years. The commission just had its first meeting last week, raising the question of how extensive a review it can accomplish. Leavitt said in an interview Tuesday with Associated Press reporters and editors that governors have had some of the answers for a long time. .."
Mental health reform back in limbo (Maine) Morning Sentinel story - "State efforts to lift a 15-year-old consent decree governing much of Maine's mental health system suffered a blow this week when a court official rejected important portions of a state reform plan. Court Master Daniel E. Wathen also approved some parts of the plan put forward by Maine Department of Health and Human Services officials in June after the Maine Supreme Court rejected Superior Court Justice Nancy D. Mills' plans to takeover some parts of the state mental health system."
Mental Health Portrayals Praised (New Zealand) Story at
Black Enterprise - "The Mental Health Commission has congratulated the country's print media for the way it reports mental health issues. The commission said compared with a 1998 study, reporting of mental health issues last year showed a significant improvement in how papers portrayed people with experience of mental illness. Commissioner Mary O'Hagan was heartened by that and made specific mention of the Waikato Times for the number of stories it ran with a mental health theme."
Mental Health of War Survivors Ivanhoe Newswire story - "War has exposed millions of people to psychological trauma. While impunity for those responsible for the trauma is thought to be associated with the mental problems of survivors of violence, a new study finds other fears may play a role as well. The study could have important implications for determining effective intervention for traumatized war survivors in postwar countries."
Northeast Health to acquire Mid-Coast (Maine) Bangor Daily News story - "The nonprofit health care umbrella company Northeast Health Inc. will take over Mid-Coast Mental Health, officials from both organizations announced Tuesday. Northeast Health runs Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care and Hospice, Penobscot Bay Physicians & Associates, Quarry Hill and the Knox Center for Long-Term Care. Mid-Coast Mental Health runs outpatient and residential mental health treatment and services in nine offices and residential sites in Knox and Waldo counties."
Governor appoints John Houston mental health commissioner (Alabama) Brief
Dateline Alabama story - "Gov. Bob Riley selected John Houston, a veteran employee of the state mental health agency, to become its commissioner Thursday. Houston replaces Kathy Sawyer, who retired Feb. 1 after serving 28 years with the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Houston had served as acting commissioner since Sawyer's retirement..."
