05/18/2012
On Wednesday, the U.S. Army launched a review into how its medical facilities have diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder and other behavioral health issues since 2001. Researchers will use statistical data from a cross section of cases and retirement evaluations from Army hospitals nationwide. The review comes after recent reports that some PTSD diagnoses were improperly reversed based on the associated costs and benefits to the military. Washington Post et al.
05/14/2012
The California Statewide Law Enforcement Association supports an Assembly bill that would allow police officers at state mental hospitals to carry guns. However, the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians says the bill is potentially hazardous. Sacramento Bee.
05/10/2012
San Joaquin County has delivered improved mental health services to residents since the passage of California's 2004 Mental Health Services Act, according to a summary report presented to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. According to the report -- presented by Behavioral Health Services Director Vic Singh and a private consultant -- the county had a 77% reduction in psychiatric hospitalizations for mental health conditions in 2011. Stockton Record.
05/09/2012
On Monday, a federal appeals court reversed a 2011 ruling requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to reform its mental health care system. The appeals court ruled that the delays veterans face when seeking mental health care are not unconstitutional and that only the president or Congress could impose such an overhaul. An attorney for the veterans groups that filed the original lawsuit said they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Reuters, AP/Sacramento Bee.
05/04/2012
The Assembly has passed a bill that would extend until 2017 Laura's Law, which allows court-ordered treatment for certain residents with mental health conditions. However, some lawmakers say that compulsory treatment is counterproductive. AP/U-T San Diego.
05/02/2012
Forty-five California counties do not have psychiatric hospitals for children and adolescents. As a result, families have to travel long distances to seek care as county-run crisis centers and hospital emergency departments are not equipped to handle many of the cases. For Fresno families, the nearest child psychiatric hospital is more than 100 miles away in Bakersfield. Fresno Bee.
05/02/2012
In 2010, one in five U.S. nursing homes provided residents with antipsychotics to treat symptoms for which the medications had not been approved by federal regulators, according to a recent Boston Globe investigation. While prescribing medications off label is legal, both FDA and CMS -- which regulates nursing homes -- have said it is inappropriate to prescribe antipsychotics for dementia patients. Boston Globe.
05/01/2012
In a Ventura County Star opinion piece, Ratan Bhavnani -- executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness' Ventura County affiliate -- argues that "there is a high cost" to cutting funding for mental health services, noting that the "burdens only get shifted elsewhere." The Republican state budget plan includes "a $1.3 billion diversion of voter-approved Mental Health Services Act funds to help balance the state budget," Bhavnani writes. He concludes, "tell the governor and the Legislature: please, no more mental health cuts. It's time to protect and strengthen mental health care." Ventura County Star.
04/30/2012
Many California community clinics are using federal health reform law funding to transition to the medical home model of care. However, efforts to expand access to comprehensive care largely depend on the Supreme Court's decision on the constitutionality of the overhaul. HealthyCal.
04/26/2012
During a Senate panel hearing, a former mental health administrator at the Department of Veterans Affairs said that VA's mental health care system has focused more on meeting performance goals than on providing quality care. Washington Post's "Federal Eye" et al.
04/23/2012
A Contra Costa Times editorial argues that "[a]gonizing rehabilitation, PTSD, depression and suicide are real and frightening issues that affect not only our returning military, but their families as well." The editorial concludes, "It is time for a national discussion about how we can better treat our nation's veterans." Contra Costa Times.
04/20/2012
In a Palm Springs Desert Sun opinion piece, California Treatment Advocacy Foundation Executive Director Phillip Greer writes that a bill -- by Assembly member Jim Beall -- that would expand mental health services covered by private insurers should be "amended to protect those individuals specifically in need of alcohol and drug rehabilitation, but who are often denied such care by their health insurance carriers." Greer writes, "For far too long, health insurance companies have imposed barriers that reduce access to much-need chemical dependency treatment." Palm Springs Desert Sun.
04/19/2012
Recently, the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services launched the "Stop Stigma Sacramento" campaign to address negative attitudes and false beliefs about mental illness. The million-dollar, yearlong campaign is being funded by the Mental Health Services Act, also known as Proposition 63. HealthyCal.
04/18/2012
Turning Point Community Programs has received a three-year contract from Yolo County to operate the Full Service Partnership program, which aims to provide a range of health services to residents with certain mental illnesses. The contract begins July 1 and is fully funded through the Mental Health Services Act. Sacramento Business Journal.
04/16/2012
A plan to improve conditions at public mental hospitals in California has not achieved goals set by the U.S. Department of Justice. The state Department of Mental Health has begun reversing some of the changes as rates of violence at certain hospitals continue to increase. Los Angeles Times.