Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Out of Spotlight, Bush Overhauls U.S. Regulations
August 13 New York Times story - "... Allies and critics of the Bush administration agree that the Sept. 11 attacks, the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq have preoccupied the public, overshadowing an important element of the president's agenda: new regulatory initiatives. Health rules, environmental regulations, energy initiatives, worker-safety standards and product-safety disclosure policies have been modified in ways that often please business and industry leaders while dismaying interest groups representing consumers, workers, drivers, medical patients, the elderly and many others. And most of it was done through regulation, not law - lowering the profile of the actions. The administration can write or revise regulations largely on its own, while Congress must pass laws. For that reason, most modern-day presidents have pursued much of their agendas through regulation. But administration officials acknowledge that Mr. Bush has been particularly aggressive in using this strategy..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

State Medicaid faces suit (Virginia)
Richmond Times Dispatch story - "An advocacy group has filed suit against the state Medicaid program, saying it is not telling parents their children may be eligible for enhanced services to uncover hidden health and behavior problems. The Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy filed the suit yesterday in U.S. District Court in Richmond against the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, which runs the Virginia Medicaid program. At issue is the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment program which covers physical exams, mental health exams, vision, dental, and hearing screenings, and treatment when problems are uncovered for Medicaid recipients under age 21..."  
  

Data Show Increased Abuse of Methamphetamine in Midwest and East Coast
SAMHSA press release - "Drug abuse-related emergency room visits involving amphetamine/ methamphetamine increased 54 percent between 1995 and 2002, with significant increases in several metropolitan areas in the Northeast, Midwest and the South, according to a new report released today by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The DAWN Report on “Amphetamine and Methamphetamine Emergency Department Visits, 2002” is based on data from SAMHSA’s Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). The report found almost 39,000 drug-abuse related emergency room visits involving amphetamines or methamphetamine, with sharp increases recorded between 1999 and 2002. The report combines amphetamine and methamphetamine because some standard drug screens do not differentiate between amphetamines and methamphetamine, and many hospitals list all these substances under the generic term amphetamine..." See also the SAMHSA page indexing resources to The DAWN Report: Amphetamine and Methamphetamine Emergency Department Visits, 1995-2002 and please note that the full report is available in Adobe Acrobat  format.    
  

Local nonprofit to serve as statewide resource for mental illness (Ohio)
Business Courier story - " Cincinnati's Health Foundation Fund has been selected as the Ohio Coordinating Center for a statewide program for people who have severe mental illness. The program, called Assertive Community Treatment, teams help with people who have the most serious mental illnesses. ACT teams aim to reduce hospitalization and involvement with the criminal justice system, improve housing stability and increase the qualtiy of life for these individuals. The Health Foundation Fund, which is part of the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, will provide training and support of ACT teams and measure the teams against best practice standards. It also will help the state complete its ACT standards..."  
  

Mental health courts in peril (Utah)
Salt Lake Tribune story - "When 3rd District Court Judge William Bohling retires this fall, he will leave behind a legacy at a crossroads. In 2001, Bohling began presiding over the state's first mental health court - a collaborative effort with attorneys and treatment providers aimed at getting help for nonviolent, mentally ill offenders instead of just jail time. Three years later, the program has expanded beyond Salt Lake City into Provo, but it also is on the verge of exhausting its funding from a four-year federal grant and is facing other hurdles..."  
  

Rogers Memorial Plans To Expand Mental Health Treatment (Wisconsin)
Brief WISN story - "Rogers Memorial Hospital has unveiled plans for a $6.8 million building project to meet what officials say is a growing demand for mental health treatment. The project is planned at the hospital's original location in the Waukesha County town of Summit. Rogers also has a hospital in West Allis and day-treatment programs in Brown Deer and Kenosha..."  
  

Illinois Children's Mental Health Plan gives legislators headache
Illinois Leader story - "Illinois recently gained national and international attention as the first state to put into law a template for mental health screening that could become a national model for government mandated “evidence-based practices screening" for emotional and social disorders for the state’s children. But now, some state legislators are expressing concern that those putting the law into practice are either over-reaching its original intent, or the language of the law is problematic..."  
  

New center cuts mental health patients wait for treatment (South Carolina)
WIS-TV story - "News 10 discovered mental health patients warehoused inside Palmetto Richland's ER for days, even weeks back in February until a bed opened up at a state facility. There was no privacy and not even a bed to sleep in. John Brown Jr. says he's already seen a big difference due to a new alternative..."  
  

Rell And Sullivan To Team Up For Mental Health Plan (Connecticut)
Brief Hartford Courant story - "Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell has asked the state's second-in-command, Democratic Lt. Gov. Kevin Sullivan, to help her devise a plan to improve state mental health services. In a letter to Sullivan that was released Monday, Rell asked him to present her with a set of objectives and actions that she can include in her proposed two-year budget that will be submitted to the legislature next year..." "hart"