Friday, April 30, 2004
State closes pyschiatric hospital (New York)Newsday story - "A 107-bed psychiatric hospital closed Friday after being cited by state regulators for numerous deficiencies. The state on Monday ordered Four Winds Psychiatric Hospital to surrender its operating certificate by Friday or face its revocation. The closing left 226 employees without jobs. .."
Minnesotan Honored with Prestigious Mental Health AwardPR Newswire story at
Yahoo - "After more than 30 years of work as a relentless mental health advocate, Minnesota State Advisory Council on Mental Health and Mental Health Association of Minnesota member, Bill Conley is recognized as the 2004 Welcome Back Award honoree for his efforts toward destigmatization of depression. ... Always interested in the mechanics of things, including those of society, its politics and solutions, Mr. Conley has puzzled over legislation that marginalizes people with depression and other mental illnesses. He began his work after answering an employment advertisement for a lobbyist and has been eradicating unfair policy ever since. During his tenure with the Mental Health Association of Minnesota, Mr. Conley has eliminated irrelevant mental health hospitalization questions, worked to increase access to care and helped erase stigma in the workplace." See also the web site of the
Welcome Back Awards.
Officials optimistic local mental health services will improve under new system (North Carolina)Tryon Daily Bulletin story - "Mental health officials say they believe Polk County patients could see better service under a new, more privatized system that took effect here this month. The former Rutherford-Polk Area Mental Health Authority has been disbanded, and The Western Highlands Local Management Entity (LME) was created in its place. The former, state-run authority provided care directly to patients. The new LME only administers care, connecting patients with a private provider. Mental health professionals initially voiced concern that the new system, part of a major statewide reform, would put patients in rural areas at a disadvantage. They said rural areas are less likely to have a suitable number of private mental health care providers, and patients would be forced to travel great distances for help..."
Group urges better coordination of mental health, education services (Pennsylvania)Wilkes Barre Times Leader story - "Emotionally disturbed children who need mental-health treatment and instruction outside regular public-school classrooms are often caught between two state agencies that do not pay attention to their educational needs, a legal advocacy group said Thursday. The Education Law Center in Philadelphia is calling for better cooperation between the Department of Public Welfare and the Department of Education in the state's 'partial-hospitalization' programs, said Janet Stotland, the center's co-director...."
The Military's Mounting Mental Health ProblemsStory at
AlterNet - "Over the past year there have been an unusually high number of suicides among U.S. troops in Iraq, and hundreds of soldiers experiencing psychological problems have been evacuated from the country. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's recent announcement authorizing the extension – by at least three months – of the tours of duty of some 20,000 soldiers set to return home, and the possibility of intensified urban warfare may add to the stress suffered by soldiers serving in Iraq. In response, the U.S. has increased the use of combat stress control teams, established a toll-free crisis hotline for service members having problems dealing with stress, and set up recuperation centers where soldiers can chill out for a few days before returning to the front lines. Questions about whether these actions are too little too late, and how the soldiers will be treated when they return home remain to be answered..."
