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During Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Governor Hochul Announces Transportation for Life Summit to Support Prevention Efforts and Raise Awareness
Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday announced that registration is now open for the upcoming Transportation for Life Summit on Friday, September 22 at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie. Coinciding with Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, the one-day, interagency summit will focus on building a first-of-its-kind coordinated and comprehensive approach to mental health awareness and suicide prevention in public spaces. The Transportation for Life Summit is a collaborative effort that will bring together professionals, experts and stakeholders from various fields, including mental health, transportation, education, community organizations, among others. The goal is to promote a commitment to suicide prevention and to collectively explore innovative strategies and initiatives to prevent suicides, raise awareness and support those impacted. Read more here.
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Governor Hochul Announces $7.7 Million to Support Addiction Workforce Development Through New Fellowship Program
Governor Kathy Hochul last week announced more than $7.7 Million in funding will be distributed through the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports to support a new workforce development and fellowship program at four medical schools across New York State. This innovative addiction workforce training initiative will support 83 New York State fellows with professional healthcare experience to gain educational training and development to best meet the needs of New Yorkers impacted by addiction. This program will allow medical students, current medical professionals, and certain state workers to enter the fellowship program by supporting their stipends (or salaries) and benefits, and will also support curriculum development, instruction, and supervision of the fellows. Enrolled addiction professionals will gain experience across multiple prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery settings. Read more here.
Related: SUNY Chancellor King Announces Task Force to Address Statewide Health Care Workforce Shortage
Why Nurse Practitioners are a Solution to Rural Healthcare Challenges
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Offering Treatment to Drug Users Instead Of Arresting Them Reduces Crime and Addiction – New Research into Police Diversion Program Shows
When police get suspected drug abusers treatment rather than arresting them, those people are less likely to abuse drugs or commit drug-related crimes in the future, new, limited research finds. This kind of police intervention can help reduce opioid abuse. The U.S. has been in the throes of rampant opioid abuse since the late 1990s. Communities around the country have experienced increases in opioid-related deaths and crimes as a result. One study shows opioid-related deaths more than quadrupled from 9,489 in 2001 to 42,245 in 2016. Another study indicates that people addicted to opioids are more likely than people who don’t use opioids to have run-ins with police. The rate of opioid-related crimes in the U.S. has increased substantially, from 32 per 100,000 people in 2005 to 78 per 100,000 people in 2018. Historically, for public safety, police have arrested people suspected of using drugs. Research shows, though, that this approach has not been effective at reducing drug abuse or related crimes. Read more here.
Related: Fentanyl mixed with cocaine or meth is driving the '4th wave' of the overdose crisis
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DEA Gets an Earful About Telehealth Prescribing of Controlled Substances
Should the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) require a prior in-person visit before allowing clinicians to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine? That was one of the issues that DEA officials heard conflicting testimony on during a "listening session" Tuesday. "Arbitrary one-time in-person evaluation requirements do not prevent abuse and diversion," said Helen Hughes, MD, medical director of the Office of Telemedicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine, in Baltimore. "Telemedicine controlled substance prescribing happens in a variety of settings across Johns Hopkins Medicine, often without a previous in-person encounter," such as pediatric patients being prescribed attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications and elderly patients who are receiving palliative care. Read more here.
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Mobile Crisis Response Teams are Addressing Mental Health Needs for Public Safety
After a year in service, Mobile Crisis Response Teams have become a critical component supplementing the police response to mental health emergencies.
Mental Health and Public Safety
Following demands for police reform across the nation as a response to tragedies like the killing of George Floyd, Westchester County set out to “reimagine” its own law enforcement procedures. To do this, the government commissioned a comprehensive report and launched an initiative called, “Project Alliance.” In a press conference on September 30th, 2021, County Executive George Latimer explained this plan. Flanked by representatives from various departments, Latimer stressed the need to address the mental health crisis. Read more here.
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988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Adds American Sign Language Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Callers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s addition of nationwide American Sign Language (ASL) services for people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, as part of ongoing efforts to expand accessibility to behavioral health care for underserved communities. Since the July 2022 launch, the 988 Lifeline has received more than 5.5 million calls, texts, and chats, following a nearly $1 billion investment by the Biden-Harris Administration, and will now be available to the millions of Americans who use ASL. Read more here.
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‘EmPATH’ Units Seek to Shatter the Behavioral Health Emergency Department Bottleneck
Health systems are seeing a steep increase in patients coming to emergency departments (EDs) for psychiatric conditions. However, the ED is often not the best place for patients in a psychiatric crisis. One major ramification of this increase is many of these patients can face a long wait time, causing a significant bottleneck in the ED. As a response, many health systems have invested in creating an alternative type of emergency psychiatric care, called EmPATH units, which specifically cater to caring for patients with behavioral health conditions. Read more here.
Related: Reinventing the E.R. for America’s Mental-Health Crisis
JAMA - Hospital Readmissions by Variation in Engagement in the Health Care Hotspotting Trial
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A Journey from Homelessness to a Room of One’s Own
Jessica moved into 90 Sands Street, a vast new supportive-housing facility in Brooklyn, on February 15th: a bleak, cloudy morning. The move came not a moment too soon; there had been much upheaval in her life in the previous few weeks, including an assault by her ex-boyfriend and two of his friends that had left her with facial bruises, and an overdose caused by the presence of the animal tranquillizer xylazine in her heroin—an honest error, it seemed, on the part of her trusted dealer—for which the forty-two-year-old was rushed to Mount Sinai from the transitional-housing facility where she’d been living for nine months. “I was dead,” she told me with characteristic flair, in her strong Southern accent. “When I left in the ambulance, I was dead. They gave me CPR, they took me to the best hospital in Manhattan, and they shocked me in the hospital six times.” Read more here.
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An Evidence-Based Focus On Preventing Suicide Through Firearm Storage—Recent Advances In Our Efforts
Last year, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to write a blog post for the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium discussing what we know about risk factors for and methods of preventing firearm suicide. In that post, I discussed why firearms play such a disproportionate role in American suicide, which communities are most heavily impacted by these tragedies, and what tools exist for us to prevent firearm suicide. I was once again offered the opportunity to honor National Suicide Prevention Month by writing a blog post on this topic and I would like to take the opportunity to provide updates on what was discussed last year. Read more here.
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911 Call-Takers Are Demoralized, Overwhelmed and Dealing With Their Own Mental Health Woes
In her 21 years as a 911 dispatcher, Lynette McManus Williams has served as the first person that callers speak with on one of the worst days of their lives. She’s coached desperate callers on how to provide CPR and the Heimlich maneuver to loved ones, dispatched emergency medical personnel and police, and convinced people that life is worth living when they’ve given up hope. Nearly five years after Williams’ “Just a Dispatcher” post went viral, she continues to hear from other dispatchers who share their experiences and police officers who thank her for what she does. But while she sees appreciation of dispatchers slowly growing, she says they’re not getting enough support to deal with the high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicide that are a byproduct of the job. Read more here.
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Policy Outsider Podcast: School-Based Health Centers
The 252 school-based health centers (SBHCs) operating in New York State serve more than 250,000 students. These health centers provide a range of services on school premises, from primary to behavioral health care—and, in some cases, dental and vision care—and augment the health services children receive from traditional healthcare providers. On the latest episode of Policy Outsider, Senior Fellow for Health Policy Courtney Burke interviews Dr. Viju Jacob, a pediatric specialist in the Bronx who works for Urban Health Plan, which operates several SBHCs, and Ronda Kotelchuk, founder of the Primary Care Development Corporation and current chair of New York State Foundation for School-Based Health Centers, to learn more about SBHCs, the positive health and academic outcomes they support, and what is needed to maintain and expand the important services they offer to students. Click here to listen to the episode.
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
From Corrections to Community: Navigating the New Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Opportunity
September 14, 1:30 - 3 pm, CSG Justice Center
Building and Supporting Comprehensive Behavioral Health Crisis Response
September 14, 2 - 3 pm, NACo
Partnership for Integrated Care: Office Hours
September 15, 2 - 3 pm, PIC
Maximizing Public Funding Streams to Expand Access to Evidence-Based Substance Use Disorder Services
September 18, 2 - 3:15 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies
Care Coordination Coming (Or Changing) In A State Near You
September 19, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
Mental Health Parity Update: Key Takeaways From the Newest Regulatory Guidance and Litigation Trends
September 19, 1 - 2 pm, Manatt Health
Enhancing Harm Reduction Services in Health Departments: Harm Reduction Vending Machines
September 19, 1:30 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
TIROES Training - Approaching TIROES From Within: Promoting Inclusivity Through Your Entire Organization
September 19, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
The Poison Center’s Role in Suicide Prevention: Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medications and the Risk for Harm
September 20, 10 - 11 am, NYC and Upstate NY Poison Centers and the NYS OMH Suicide Prevention Center
Increasing Access to Behavioral Health Services for Underrepresented Communities
September 20, 12 - 1 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Transforming the Criminal Justice System with Peer Support
September 20, 1 - 2:30 pm, CSG Justice Center
Suicide Prevention and the Aging Population
September 21, 10 am - 12 pm, Central East ATTC
OMH Webinar for All Providers
September 21, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH
Engaging Community Stakeholders to Reduce Mental Health Inequities in the Hispanic Community
September 21, 12:30 - 2 pm, NIH
Understanding the 988 Lifeline LGBTQ+ Landscape
September 21, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Shattering Myths: Performance, Attrition, and Executive Functioning of College Students with Mental Health Conditions
September 21, 2:30 - 4 pm, Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research
Peer Recovery Support Series, Part 8: Ethics, Confidentiality, and Boundaries in Peer Recovery
September 21, 3 - 4 pm, NAADAC
CoE-IHS Webinar: Partnering with Schools to Improve Youth Mental Health
September 26, 11 am - 12 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Using Progressive Practices to Promote Wellness & Recovery for Veterans
September 26, 12 - 2 pm, NASW-NYS
Lessons from the Field in Reducing Child Abuse through Community-Based Collaboration
September 26, 12:30 - 2 pm, Social Current
Harm Reduction, Limited Gambling and Countertransference
September 27, 12 - 1:30 pm, NY Council on Problem Gambling
Teachable Moment: Helping Students (and Adults) Address Mental Health Challenges
September 27, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Behavioral Health: Leveraging Person-Centered Approaches
September 27, 2:30 - 4 pm, Resources for Integrated Care
Healthy Families for a Healthy Workforce
September 28, 12 - 1 pm, MHANYS
Equity-Centered Strategies to Improve Care for People Experiencing Homelessness: Lessons from Kings and Tulare Counties
September 29, 11 am - 12 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies
Understanding the Population of People with Frequent Jail Contact
September 29, 1 - 2 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
988: It is NOT just a number- Webinar #3
October 3, 2 - 4:30 pm, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Key Takeaways: Survey Of 4,000 Health Plans On Behavioral Health’s Future
October 24, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
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CLMHD CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
September 14: 11 am - 12 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
September 14: 3 - 4 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
September 19: 11:30 am - 1 pm
Membership Call
September 20: 9 - 10:30 am
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
September 21: 1 - 2:30 pm
Deputy DCS Call
September 26: 10 - 11 am
Mentoring Workshop: Steps to Developing a Threat Assessment Group in Your County
September 27: 11:30 am - 1 pm
OCTOBER
CLMHD Executive Committee Meeting
October 4: 8 - 9 am
AOT Coordinators Call
October 6: 10 - 11:30 am
LGU Clinic Operators Call
October 10: 10 - 11:30 am
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
October 12: 11 am - 12 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
October 12: 3 - 4 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
October 17: 11:30 am - 1 pm
Membership Call
October 18: 9 - 10:30 am
Mental Hygiene Planning Committee Meeting
October 19: 1 - 2:30 pm
Deputy DCS Call
October 24: 10 - 11 am
Fall 2023 Full Membership Meeting
October 25 - 27, Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel
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