Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2003: Area Profiles of Drug-Related Mortality Data from the SAMHSA DAWN project - "This is the first publication of mortality data from the new Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Virtually every feature of DAWN, except its name, changed in 2003. In this publication, we refer to "new DAWN" to emphasize these differences. The purpose of this publication is to profile the drug-related deaths reported to DAWN by participating medical examiners and coroners (ME/Cs) for 2003. Each metropolitan area or State is presented separately, with participating and non-participating jurisdictions clearly identified. No system-wide summaries are provided, either in the text or in tables. Our intent is to discourage aggregation of data across areas, because the mortality component of DAWN is not national in scope nor can it be used to derive national estimates. DAWN mortality data for 2003 are not comparable to those for any prior years. In fact, no comparisons of data from the "old" and "new" DAWN are possible. "  
  

Some House Members Warned of VA Health Deficit as Early as Last Year Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report item - "Former Chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) and several Republicans warned House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) last year that the government would have a budget deficit of at least $750 million for veterans' health care programs in fiscal year 2006, the AP/Richmond Post-Dispatch reports ..."  
  

A Goal: Homes for 9,500 (Washington) Seattle Weekly story - "King County is about to take a stab at reducing that figure—to zero. On July 11, King County Executive Ron Sims, business leaders, government officials, and homeless advocates rolled out a 10-year plan to end county homelessness once and for all. But it's a plan that some advocates for the homeless say falls short because it doesn't address underlying economic issues. The plan aims to end homelessness by "putting a roof over every bed" and thereby eliminate homelessness instead of merely managing the problem. The plan estimates that it will take 9,500 units of long-term, low-income housing to meet that goal, as well as aggressive integration of mental-health care and substance-abuse treatment. About 40 percent of the homeless surveyed in the One Night Count reported mental-health issues...."  
  

Bredesen Launches Mental Health Safety Net Initiative (Tennessee) Story in The Chatanoogan - "Gov. Phil Bredesen today joined Commissioner of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Virginia Trotter Betts to announce a $11.4 million partnership with community mental health agencies from across Tennessee that will benefit nearly 20,000 Tennesseans. In the most recent of efforts under Gov. Bredesen’s Health Care Safety Net, Tennessee will provide the funding for 20 community-based, nonprofit mental health agencies to continue key mental health services for patients with severe mental illnesses who will come off TennCare, the state’s financially troubled public health program."