Friday, January 30, 2004

National report finds Alabama a leader in mental health care
Press release from Governing magazine - "An assessment of health care in the 50 states, released here today, finds that Alabama is a pioneer in the field of mental health care. The report touts Alabama’s creation of regional mental health teams in rural areas where the state is closing psychiatric hospitals. ... 'Deinstitutionalization has failed in many parts of the country because states have failed to build their community-based mental health systems to adequately support people with mental illness,' says Michele Mariani, co-author of the special issue of Governing. 'Alabama should be commended for its foresight in leaving teams of specialists in areas that used to be served by hospitals and would have been seriously underserved otherwise.' ” See also the article A Case of Neglect ("Why Health Care Is Getting Worse, Even Though Medicine Is Getting Better") and the state summaries and press releases.  
  

Gov. Johanns Unveils Report Confirming Feasibility of Mental Health Reform (Nebraska)
Southwest Nebraska News story - "Gov. Mike Johanns and State Senator Jim Jensen presented a report today compiled by a prominent health care expert which concludes that the proposed mental health reform plan, introduced by Sen. Jensen as LB 1083, can be achieved. The Lewin Group report is titled Balancing New Adult Behavioral Health Community Supports. The Executive Summary of the report concludes that, “Lewin not only believes that the Road to Recovery is a highly principled plan… we believe that the Road to Recovery is achievable on the timeline, and for the budget, laid out by Governor Johanns and Senator Jensen.” See also the full report (in Adobe Acrobat format) at the section of the governor's web site on reforming mental health services and the McCook Daily Gazette story Mental health plans questioned.