Friday, August 13, 2004

Mental health unit gets state OK (North Carolina)
News-Record story - "High Point Regional Health System will renovate and expand its unit that treats patients with psychological and chemical dependency problems after the state approved that project Tuesday. The health system was seeking a certificate of need for the roughly $2.75 million project for the inpatient behavioral unit on the fifth floor of the health system's cancer center. The state's certificate-of-need process is intended to control health care costs by preventing unnecessary medical facilities or equipment..."  
  

County to File Mental Health Mandates Amicus Brief (California)
Metropolitan News-Enterprise story - "The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously directed the County Counsel’s Office yesterday to file an amicus brief supporting a Sacramento judge’s ruling that could shift as much as $36 million in annual costs of mental health services for disabled students from Los Angeles County to the state. The motion, by Supervisor Mike Antonovich, also directed county Chief Administrative Officer David E. Janssen to report back within 60 days on the potential impact of the ruling."  
  

Mental health agency adjusts to funding cuts (Texas)
Valley Morning Star story - "Money to provide outpatient mental health care is being stretched, but services will be available, a health care official told county leaders. Terry Crocker, chief executive officer for Edinburg-based Tropical Texas Center for Mental Health/Mental Retardation, told Cameron County commissioners Tuesday that his agency is dealing with state funding cuts without cutting services. "  
  

Two new mental health facilities planned in $35 million expansion (Indiana)
Brief WANE-TV story - "Madison Center of South Bend plans to build separate mental health treatment facilities for older adults and for children and adolescents. It's part of a 35 (m) million-dollar expansion project.Construction of a three-story facility to treat the elderly is expected to begin next year. Chief Executive Officer Jack Roberts says it will be the biggest construction project in the center's 54-year history and will include 60 hospital beds."  
  

Mental health group targets student depression (North Carolina)
Rocky Mountain Telegram story - "The School Mental Health Project, a program instrumental in helping to train area school nurses in spotting depression in students, has won a national award. The project was implemented in 2003 by the Eastern Area Health Education Center of Greenville, which works closely with the Area L AHEC of Rocky Mount in administering health education, said an Area L AHEC spokeswoman. ... National Area Health Education Center officials of Wexford, Pa., recently bestowed the award on the organization, saying the project should serve as a model for other Area Health Education Centers in the nation."