Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Army Is Studying Suicide in Ranks
New York Times article - "Army officials sent mental-health experts to Iraq last month to study cases of suspected suicide among ground troops and determine whether sufficient counseling was available, a Defense Department official said Monday. Pentagon officials are trying to determine whether the reported suicides can be attributed to combat stress or the growing length of tours in Iraq, or whether the numbers of deaths attributed to self-inflicted wounds are in keeping with suicide rates in the military when not deployed. USA Today, in an article on Monday, quoted military officials as saying at least 11 Army soldiers and 3 marines had committed suicide in Iraq over the past seven months." "nyt"  
  

Editorial: Frontier needs challenge care system
Billings Gazette editorial - "A presidential commission has called for "Transforming Mental Health Care in America" -- rightly recognizing that rural America has special needs. These needs are obvious in the states of Wyoming and Montana where the word rural falls short. Most of our vast geography is "frontier" -- where there are more antelope than people, a trip to a doctor is a half-day's drive and stigma can keep people from seeking treatment. Twenty-five percent of Americans live in rural areas. Yet the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health found: 'Too often policies and practices developed for metropolitan areas are erroneously assumed to apply to rural areas.'"  
  

Controversial Implant Sparks 'Town Hall'
Newsday story - "Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania are developing a controversial implant designed to deliver small doses of antipsychotic medicines for up to a year to people with schizophrenia. Knowing that this approach raises a host of medical and ethical issues, the researchers held a medical 'town hall' meeting last month."