OPINION 06/16/2018 07:01 am ET Sascha CohenGuest Writer The recent deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain have sparked discussions about mental illness in America: How can we prevent further tragedies like these? So far, proposed solutions include tackling the stigma surrounding depression and increasing gestures of social support. Such discussions are valuable, but they ignore the glaring problem of unequal access to mental health resources. Our efforts to create a culture that is more open to speaking candidly about suicide may have been inspired by the deaths of two fabulously rich people, but mental health awareness cannot ultimately revolve around wealthy celebrities. Unfortunately, it looks as if we’re already heading in that direction: An image circulating on Instagram earnestly encourages people to “check in on your rich friend.” When I read this, I balked. My rich friends with depression can pay $700 per week for cutting-edge … [Read more...] about Mental Health Awareness Can’t Be Just For Rich People
Inpatient mental health treatment centers
Jazz advocacy: Guitarist Sam Miltich teaches mental-health tolerance with music
Photo by Jeff Peabody Sam Miltich wanted to bring jazz and performance to rural areas of the state to increase access to art for people who are suffering from mental illness. When he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Sam Miltich thought his life was over. That was a little more than a decade ago. Today, Miltich, 33, has managed to make his mental illness just one part of who he is. A widely successful jazz guitarist and a married father of two, Miltich keeps up with his psychiatric medications and takes good care of his physical health in order to keep the symptoms of his schizophrenia in check. It took work, but Miltich learned how to thrive despite his schizophrenia, building what he describes as a “happy, busy, normal” life for himself and his family. He makes his home in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and travels around the state and the country, playing his own unique brand of improvised jazz in small-town clubs, on the radio, on international tours with groups such as the … [Read more...] about Jazz advocacy: Guitarist Sam Miltich teaches mental-health tolerance with music
Hospital emergency rooms in Maryland struggle with flood of patients with mental health, substance-use issues
Twelve-year-old Kristine Williams has logged a lot of time in the emergency room since she was diagnosed with mental health conditions about four years ago. But she has not been treated during any of her visits.Mostly, the Elkton girl sits and waits — for up to 24 hours a visit — as hospital staff search for appropriate care elsewhere.Emergency room physicians and hospital officials in Maryland say they have become overwhelmed with such patients in need of treatment for mental health or substance use problems.Emergency room visits in Maryland fell 8 percent from 2013 to 2016, but the number of patients with behavioral health problems jumped 18.5 percent. Such cases now make up roughly a quarter of all emergency visits in Maryland.Often there are no other places for such patients to go. But most hospitals aren’t equipped to provide the services they need.“I’d move heaven and earth and do anything to care for her,” said Patricia Williams, … [Read more...] about Hospital emergency rooms in Maryland struggle with flood of patients with mental health, substance-use issues
CHKD seeks state approval for a $50 million mental health facility
NORFOLKIn a move he described as tectonic, the president of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters said the health system will expand its mental-health footprint in the community with a proposal for a $50 million psychiatric center.The hospital must get state approval before moving forward, but president and CEO Jim Dahling said CHKD is committed to embracing what its community surveys have shown to be the No. 1 health concern: mental health services for children.Three to five children a day arrive in the hospital’s emergency room in need of a mental health evaluation, a number that has increased by 40 percent during the past four years, according to CHKD.If the children have both a medical and psychiatric condition, they can be admitted for inpatient care. But if their sole diagnosis is psychiatric, they need to be referred to a psychiatric facility. In some situations, such as eating disorders, that means traveling out of state.The hospital submitted paperwork … [Read more...] about CHKD seeks state approval for a $50 million mental health facility
Administration pressed to expand mental health treatment
Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Associated Press February 27, 2018 WASHINGTON — Amid the outcry over the Florida school shootings, the Trump administration says it is ‘‘actively exploring’’ ways to help states expand inpatient mental health treatment using Medicaid funds.President Trump again brought up the issue of mental hospitals in a meeting with governors this week, invoking a time when states maintained facilities for mentally ill and developmentally disabled people.‘‘In the old days, you would put him into a mental institution,’’ Trump said, apparently referring to alleged shooter Nikolas Cruz, whose troubling behavior prompted people close to him to plead for help from authorities, without success. ‘‘We have nothing between a prison and leaving him at his house, which we can’t do … [Read more...] about Administration pressed to expand mental health treatment