Feeling Better Cable Show

Practical tips to staying mentally
well from local community experts.
Interviews, news and community highlights.

Greater Cincinnati Area TV
Intercommunity Cable Regulatory

Channel   4: Thursdays at 9:30 P.M.
Channel 17: Sundays at 1:30 P.M.

Airtimes may vary from month to month, for exact show times call Intercommunity at 513-772-4272, 2492. Intercommunity serves Amberley, Arlington, Columbia, Crosby, Deerfield, Deer Park, Elmwood, Evendale, Glendale, Harrison, Harrison Twp., Indian Hill, Lincoln Hts., Lockland, Mariemont, Mason, Milford, Mt. Healthy, R. Reading, Sharonville, Silverton, St. Bernard, Sycamore Twp., Symmes Twp., Terrace Park, Union Twp (Butler Co. & W. Chester), Woodlawn.

Media Bridges
Channel 15 or 24

Airtimes vary from month to month, for exact show times call Media Bridges at 513-651-4171. Media Bridges serves Avondale, Bond Hill, Carthage, California, Camp Wash., Central Business District, Clifton Hts., University Hts., Fairview, College Hill, Columbia, East End, Corryville, E & W Price Hill, Price Hill, Evanston, Fernbank, Sayler Prk., Kennedy Hts., Lower Price Hill, Mt. Adams, Mt. Airy, Mt. Auburn, Mt. Lookout, North Avondale, Paddock Hills, N. Fairmount, Oakley, Over-The-Rhine, Pleasant Ridge, Queensgate, Riverside, Sedamsville, Roselawn, S. Fairmount, S. Cumminsville, Walnut Hills, W. End, Westwood, Winton Hills, Winton Place.

Anderson Union Community TV
Channel 15 or 22

Airtimes may vary from month to month, for exact show times call Anderson Union Community TV at 513-474-3488.

Northern Kentucky TV
Campbell County Community Cable
Channel 21
Wednesday - 7:00 P.M
Sundays - 4:00 P.M.

Airtimes may vary from month to month, for exact show times call Campbell County Community Media Center at 859-781-3495.

Northern Kentucky Community TV
Boone/Kenton
Channel 21
Monday - noon
Sunday - 7:00 P.M.

Airtimes may vary from month to month, for exact show times call Northern Kentucky Community TV at 859-261-1300.

Local News

HEALTH DATA RESOURCES DIRECTORY 2004 AVAILABLE

The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati has compiled the Health Data Resources Directory 2004 to help people help themselves to the wealth of health data resources available on many topics at the local, state, and national levels. The directory includes data resources in the categories of Important Health Data Reports/Databases, General Health, HIPAA Resources, Primary Care, School-Based Health, Severe Mental Illness, and Substance Abuse. Each data source listing includes the name of the organization and--whenever available—the person to contact, phone and fax numbers, and street, e-mail, and web site addresses. Each listing also indicates the region the organization serves, the level of data available, and any other information worth noting. The full Health Data Resources Directory 2004 is also available online at http://www.healthfoundation.org/data. To order a copy of the directory or to download a PDF, please visit http://www.healthfoundation.org/publications/reports or call 513-458-6658.

Greater Cincinnati Health Watch
published weekly by The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati

Additional tests for rare diseases in Kentucky infants are unlikely because of a Medicaid "crisis" and budget issues despite the recommendation of a federal committee last month that U.S. infants receive 30 such tests, according to state health officials. Kentucky and seven other states currently test infants for four rare diseases. Kentucky last year tested 53,708 infants for hypothyroidism, sickle cell anemia, galactosemia and phenylketonuria, with 392 newborns referred for follow-up tests. Dr. Steve Davis, director of the Division of Adult and Child Health Improvement in the state Department for Public Health, in 2002 established the Newborn Screening Advisory Committee to consider an expansion of tests for Kentucky infants. According to Davis, the four tests that the state currently provides cost $14.50 per infant, and the 30 recommended tests would cost about $50 per infant. The cost of the tests for Kentucky infants in most cases is covered by private health insurance, Medicaid or by parents. Parents who seek tests for infants in addition to the four provided by Kentucky must order them through a private laboratory at twice the price that the state could offer. Davis and NSAC estimate that an expansion of the tests for infants provided by Kentucky from four to the 30 recommended would increase the cost for the state from about $1 million to about $4 million annually. Dr. James Holsinger, secretary for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said that Medicaid covers the cost of the tests for almost half of Kentucky infants and that the state cannot afford the cost of additional tests. However, parents and medical experts maintain that an expansion of the tests provided to Kentucky infants could reduce long-term medical costs (Isaacs, Lexington Herald-Leader, 10/17).

Access to Care: High Malpractice Insurance Premiums Force OB/GYNs To Leave Kentucky

Recent studies have found that high medical malpractice insurance premiums have prompted an increased number of Kentucky OB/GYNs to leave the state or decide to no longer deliver infants. The number of licensed OB/GYNs in the state decreased 5% between 1999 and 2003, from 507 to 483, according to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. According to a survey conducted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the state also has a higher-than-average rate of OB/GYNs who decide to no longer deliver infants or decrease their caseloads of high-risk pregnancies. ACOG ranked Kentucky among eight "red alert" states that could face a shortage of OB/GYNs in the near future and estimated that about 3,000 pregnant women in the state must find new physicians annually. According to the Kentucky Medical Association, 70 counties in the state do not have an OB/GYN. Although officials for malpractice insurers maintain that OB/GYNs have higher malpractice insurance premiums because they face more malpractice claims that other physicians, some Kentucky physicians who were never sued for malpractice must pay as much as $85,000 annually in insurance premiums (Ungar, Louisville Courier-Journal, 10/17).

Access to Care: Low-Income Ohio Children Might Have To Wait for Flu Vaccinations

Some low-income Ohio children who qualify for flu vaccinations might have to wait to receive them because of concerns over physician reimbursements through the state Medicaid program. Kent Ware, vaccine administrator for the Ohio Department of Health, has sent physicians and local health departments a letter that said they should not use privately purchased flu vaccine doses for low-income children enrolled in a program called Vaccine for Children. Ohio cannot guarantee physicians Medicaid reimbursements for those flu vaccine doses, the letter said. However, Mary Kahn, an HHS official, disputed the letter and said that physicians do not have to wait to receive flu vaccine doses through VFC to administer the vaccine to children enrolled in Medicaid. "If they don't have their VFC supply, they are to bill the state Medicaid program," Kahn said. The state health department expects to receive a shipment of 100,000 flu vaccine doses for VFC, agency spokesperson Kristopher Weiss said (AP/Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/25).

Access to Care: Drinking, Smoking Can Influence Rising Expenses, Treasury Secretary Says

Excessive eating, smoking and drinking by U.S. residents is partially responsible for rising health care costs, Treasury Secretary John Snow said last week. Snow, who spoke at a business meeting at a Pennsylvania hospital, said, "Health care is affecting the way the economy performs," including business competitiveness, job creation and the budget outlook for the future. "Getting a handle on health care costs ... has far-reaching implications for the economy," he added (Reuters/Washington Times, 10/20). Snow said the United States "need[s] a culture that leans against [excessiveness] because that reduces the chronic diseases that account for so much of health care costs. ... Preventive medicine would do an awful lot here, if people just followed good health practices" (Reuters/Wall Street Journal, 10/20). Snow, who often cites frivolous malpractice lawsuits as the main force behind rising health care costs, also spoke about tort reform and the need to limit litigation against health care providers. Snow maintains that lawsuits have "driven up employers' health insurance premiums" and rising malpractice insurance premiums are leading to a shortage of specialists in some areas of the country (Reuters/Washington Times, 10/20).

Mental Health: Indiana Will Not Implement Scheduled Medicaid Reimbursement Reduction

Indiana Medicaid Director Melanie Bella last week said that the state will not implement a reduction in Medicaid reimbursements for inpatient psychiatric care as scheduled on Nov. 1 because hospital officials have indicated that the move would prompt several facilities to eliminate mental health beds. The state had planned to reduce Medicaid reimbursements from $408.50 daily, which covers about 76% of the actual average cost of inpatient psychiatric care, to $309.35 daily, about 60% the actual average cost. The state psychiatric care system is "stressed financially, and a further reduction of $100 a day in their reimbursement would make their continuing to provide these services not possible in some cases," David Wiesman, vice president of the Indiana Hospital & Health Association, said. The association and the Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers surveyed their members on the likely effects of the scheduled Medicaid reimbursement reduction and found that seven of 24 medical/surgical hospitals expected to reduce their number of mental health beds or close psychiatric care units. Medicaid currently covers the cost of about 33% of all psychiatric hospital stays in the state (Kusmer, Associated Press, 10/19).

Mental Health: FDA Orders Black Box Warning on Antidepressants' Suicide Risks

FDA officials have ordered pharmaceutical companies that manufacture antidepressants to add black box warnings to drug packaging advising consumers that the drugs could cause suicidal thoughts and actions in people younger than 18 years old. The warnings are the strongest warnings that federal regulators can impose before banning a medication (Harris, New York Times, 10/16). An FDA advisory panel on Sept. 14 voted 15-8 to recommend that all antidepressants carry a black box warning. A black box warning is a black section with white writing that appears at the top of drug inserts distributed to physicians and patients (American Health Line, 10/7). Officials will implement the changes immediately, and the new warnings will be added to all antidepressants within weeks (Vedantam, Washington Post, 10/16). FDA has not finalized the language of the patient medication guides (New York Times,10/16) .

National Institute of Mental Health

October 1, 2004

Science and Service News Updates

NIDA Research Identifies Factors Related to Inhalant Abuse and Addiction

New research shows that young people who have been treated for mental health problems, have a history of foster care, or who already abuse other drugs have an increased risk of abusing or becoming dependent on inhalants. In addition, adolescents who first begin using inhalants at an early age are more likely to become dependent on them. The study by funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is published in the October 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

FDA Statement on Recommendations of the Psychopharmacologic Drugs and Pediatric Advisory Committees

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it supports recommendations that were recently made to the agency by the Psychopharmacologic Drugs and Pediatric Advisory Committees regarding reports of an increased risk of suicidality (suicidal thoughts and actions) associated with the use of certain antidepressants in pediatric patients. FDA has begun working expeditiously to adopt new labeling to enhance the warnings associated with the use of antidepressants and to bolster the information provided to patients when these drugs are dispensed.

U.S. House Hearing on FDA's Role in Protecting the Public Health: Examining FDA's Review of Safety & Efficacy Concerns in Anti-Depressant Use by Children

The House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing about the FDA’s review of safety and efficacy concerns in anti-depressant use by children on September 23, 2004.

CMS: Medicare Posts Coverage Decision to Expand Use of PET Scans for Alzheimer’s Disease

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it has expanded Medicare coverage of positron emission tomography (PET) to include some Medicare beneficiaries with suspected Alzheimer’s disease and to include other beneficiaries at risk for Alzheimer’s disease who are enrolled in a large and easily accessible clinical trial.

October 15, 2004

Science and Service News Updates

NIH Roadmap Initiative Accelerates

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., and members of NIH Senior Staff briefed the press and representatives of scientific and health organizations about new NIH Roadmap for Medical Research projects and fiscal year 2005 initiatives. One year after launching the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, the NIH has made significant progress toward accelerating the pace of discovery, encouraging many more new applications, and drawing researchers into the field. Among the new research projects are: 1) innovative programs to train clinical researchers; 2) NIH Director's Pioneer Awards; 3) a nationwide interconnected network of bio-computing centers; and 4) research tools and technologies available to all researchers.

NIMH Grant to Explore Genetics of Autism

The NIMH announced a 3-year, $3 million grant to Johns Hopkins University to study the genetic factors underlying autism. In an average year, 2 to 6 new cases of autism, a neuropsychiatric disorder, arise per 1,000 children. While at least 80 percent of the disorder is due to hereditary factors, experts believe it develops from an interaction between environmental factors and multiple unknown genes. The Johns Hopkins research team proposes to use new genetic analysis technologies to dissect the complex neuropsychiatric traits of autism.

NIMH: Panel Finds that Scare Tactics for Violence Prevention are Harmful

Programs that rely on “scare tactics” to prevent children and adolescents from engaging in violent behavior are not only ineffective, but may actually make the problem worse, according to an independent state-of-the-science panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The panel found that group detention centers, boot camps, and other “get tough” programs often exacerbate problems by grouping young people with delinquent tendencies, where the more sophisticated instruct the more naïve. Similarly, the practice of transferring juveniles to the adult judicial system can be counterproductive, resulting in greater violence among incarcerated youth.

NIMH: New Learning Techniques Improve Global HIV/AIDS Prevention

Researchers funded by the NIMH have found that advanced communication technologies -- including multimedia CDs -- can improve world-wide dissemination of new HIV/AIDS prevention models to providers of health services. To combat the global spread of HIV, public health experts require quick and effective transmission of the latest behavioral intervention tools developed, primarily, in the United States. Ordinarily, scientific findings are disseminated via academic journals, read mostly by researchers. The new study identifies an effective method to translate scientific advances to providers in the field. The findings are published in the September 24, 2004 issue of the journal, Science.

NIH: Breathing Problems During Sleep May Affect Mental Development in Infants and Young Children

Children who have problems breathing during sleep tend to score lower on tests of mental development and intelligence than do other children their age, according to two studies funded by the NIH. Both studies appear in the October issue of Journal of Pediatrics. The first study, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), found that at one year of age, infants who have multiple, brief breathing pauses (apnea) or slow heart rates during sleep scored lower on mental development tests than did other infants of the same age. The second study was funded primarily by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Results show that 5-year-old children who had frequent snoring, loud or noisy breathing during sleep, or sleep apneas observed by parents scored lower on intelligence, memory, and other standard cognitive tests than other children their age. They were also more likely to have behavioral problems.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) AnnouncesAwards for Initiatives

$34 Million Awarded for Children’s Mental Health Initiative

SAMHSA will administer four cooperative agreements that are designed to strengthen local capacity to care for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances. Through a “systems of care” approach, the mental health needs of children, adolescents and their families will be provided through local resources such as the home, schools and community programs.

$19.3 Million in Grants to Treat Persons with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders

SAMHSA is awarding grants to Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Virginia to stimulate states to provide comprehensive, evidence-based treatment to persons who have at least one mental disorder as well as an alcohol or drug use disorder. These grants are part of the State Incentive Grant for Treatment of Persons with Co-Occurring Related and Mental Disorders program.

Awards Totaling $67.6 Million to Provide Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services for Homeless People

SAMHSA awarded 34 grants totaling $67.6 million over five years to provide substance abuse and mental health services to homeless individuals.

$11.19 Million Awarded in Grants to Promote Recovery from Addictive Disorders

Under SAMHSA’s Recovery Community Services Program, eight projects will develop and deliver peer-to-peer recovery support services for people recovering from alcohol and drug use disorders in community settings. These services are intended to help prevent relapse, facilitate timely reentry into treatment when relapse occurs, and promote sustained recovery and an enhanced quality of life for participants.

November 1, 2004

President Signs Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act

The President signed into law the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act to authorize funding to support state strategies to create or expand suicide prevention programs. The Act requires states to distribute grant funding to entities, including education systems, juvenile justice systems, local governments, and nonprofit groups, that will carry out these programs. In addition, colleges and universities can receive funding to establish or enhance mental health outreach and treatment centers for their students.

NIA: Researchers Discover Gene Mutations For Parkinson'sDisease

An international research team, led by scientists at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), has discovered a gene, which when mutated, causes Parkinson's disease in some families. Although Parkinson's disease is usually not inherited, the discovery of this gene and further study of how it works could open up new avenues of research for preventing or delaying the onset of the disease. In research, the study of rare familial forms of a disease has often led to major insights into the pathogenesis of more common forms. The finding was published online by Neuron on October 22, 2004.

NIA: Scientists Detect Two Decision-Making Pathways In Human Brain

People are often torn between impulsively choosing immediate rewards or more deliberatively planning for the future. And now new research supported in part by the NIA suggests why: human decision-making is influenced by the interactions of two distinct systems in the brain which are often at odds. The finding, published in the October 15, 2004, issue of Science has broad implications for predicting economic and behavioral health patterns, says Richard Suzman, Ph.D., Associate Director of the NIA's Behavioral and Social Research Program

NIAAA: Smokers with Psychiatric Disorders Consume Most U.S. Cigarettes

Adults with nicotine dependence and/or psychiatric disorders consume 70 percent of all cigarettes smoked in the United States, according to results of a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) study reported in the November issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Based on the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, the article provides the first national estimates among U.S. adults of the prevalence and co-occurrence of nicotine dependence and a broad array of other psychiatric disorders including alcohol and drug abuse and dependence, mood and anxiety disorders, and personality disorders.

NICHD: Researchers Find Protein That Makes Long-Term Memory Possible

From language to literature, from music to mathematics, a single protein appears central to the formation of the long-term memories needed to learn these and all other disciplines, according to a team of researchers led by scientists at the NICHD. Their findings appear in the October 15, 2004 issue of Science.

NIEHS Researchers Identify Brain Protein That Halts Progression of Alzheimer's

Researchers have identified a protein in the brain that halts the progression of Alzheimer's disease in human brain tissue. The protein, known as "transthyretin," protects brain cells from gradual deterioration by blocking another toxic protein that contributes to the disease process. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) provided $1.25 million to University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists for the transthyretin study. The scientists presented their findings at the 34th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, Calif.

SAMHSA: Delayed Alcohol Use Linked to Fewer Problems with Abuse or Dependence as Adults

Persons reporting they first used alcohol before age 15 are more than five times as likely to report past year alcohol dependence or abuse as adults than persons who first used alcohol at age 21 or older. These are the conclusions of a special analysis of the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, announced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Announces Awards for Initiatives

SAMHSA Awards $5.3 Million to Support Efforts to Eliminate the Use of Restraint and Seclusion of Patients

SAMHSA announced a State Incentive Grant award totaling $5.3 million over three years to build capacity for alternatives to restraint and seclusion of patients with mental disorders. The grants are designed to support state efforts to adopt best practices to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of restraint and seclusion in institutional and community-based settings that provide mental health services, including services for people with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.

$26 Million in Grants For Children’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse State Infrastructure Development

SAMHSA is administering seven grants totaling $26 million over five years to strengthen state support of local systems of coordinated care for children and youth who suffer from co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. The grants will be provided over five years to strengthen the capacity of states, territories, and American Indian tribal governments.

$23.3 Million Announced to Provide Substance Abuse Treatment to Juveniles and Young Adults Returning from Incarceration

Awards for $23.3 million in grants to support substance abuse treatment and related services for juveniles and young adults returning from incarceration were announced by SAMHSA. The grants are designed to provide substance abuse treatment to both juveniles and young offenders up to age 24 as they enter into the community from prison.

$23 Million Awarded to Fight Club Drug Use at Local Level

SAMHSA announced awards totaling more than $23 million over five years to fight the spread of ecstasy and other club drugs. The funds will foster development of projects through schools, local health departments, and other community-based organizations that have strong evidence of effectiveness.

Over $35 Million Awarded to Increase Local Substance Abuse Treatment

Twenty-four grants to expand or enhance access to substance abuse treatment services in communities facing serious, emerging substance abuse problems were awarded. The grants are being awarded in four categories: Innovative Approaches, Minority Populations, Rural Areas, and Methamphetamine Treatment.

National Mental Health Association News

October 25, 2004

DID YOU KNOW?

… Teens who get less sleep each night than their peers are more likely to report suicidal thoughts and behavior.

TODAY'S NEWS

Suicide

President Bush signed legislation last week that would provide funding to states, Indian tribes, colleges and universities to develop suicide prevention programs. The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, as the new law is known, was named after the son of Oregon Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, a college student who killed himself last year. (The Wall Street Journal, 10/21/04).

In responding to a recent article, Jerry Reed, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Action Network, wrote that the National Institutes of Health will spend $440 million on teen obesity research, but only $40 million on suicide prevention efforts. Reed argues that the main reason for this disparity is the stigma of mental illness. The recently-passed Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act goes a long way in addressing teen suicide, but it must be fully funded to make a difference. (Chicago Tribune, 10/21/04)

Research

Schizophrenia: In confirming earlier, smaller studies, Swedish researchers found that children born to older men have a higher than normal risk of developing schizophrenia than children born to younger men. The researchers also found that the risk increases with age – a child born to a 30-year-old man has much less chance of developing the disorder than a child born to a 50-year-old man. They conclude that a possible cause of this increased risk is due to accumulating mutations in men’s sperm as they get older. ( Reuters Health, 10/22/04)

Cancer: People who have mental health disorders tend to develop certain cancers at a younger age than people who do not have such disorders, a new study indicates. Researchers speculate that one category of cancers that occur at higher rates among people with these disorders, respiratory cancers, can be attributed to the higher rate of smoking among some people who have mental disorders. The other category of cancers, brain tumors, may be due to the cancers appearing first, the symptoms of which may manifest themselves as mental health disorders. (State and Local Health Law Weekly, 10/28/04)

Internet: People who rely heavily on medical information gleaned from the Internet in understanding their own condition tend to have worse health outcomes than people who rely primarily on physicians’ advice, a recent review of 28 studies indicates. A columnist speculates that people who rely heavily on Internet information “get so steeped in the information” that they make their own treatment decisions. Another reason may be that people find that their behavior, such as smoking, will not necessarily lead to poor health outcomes and therefore won’t change their behavior. The columnist recommends that people consult reputable Web sites, such as those run by the National Institutes of Health. (Time, 11/1/04)

State News

Michigan: Although they make up only 2 percent of all court-ordered personal protection orders issued by state courts, a growing number of parents in the state are using these orders to protect their children, who have been victims of bullies. One expert supported the use of these orders, equating such bullying with domestic violence, but advised parents to use this route only as a last resort. (Associated Press, 10/25/04)

Texas: MHA in Greater Dallas board member Mary Bloom became active in mental health advocacy after one of her sons was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder about 20 years ago. Before becoming an advocate, she hadn’t given mental illnesses a second thought, she said in an interview. She praised newscaster Jane Pauley for recently publicly discussing her bipolar disorder, pointing out that “[w]hen there are more public people being forthright,’ this is helpful in educating the public about mental illnesses. (Dallas Morning News, 10/24/04)

Utah: The Disability Law Center has launched a public education campaign in rural areas of the state to help educate public officials and others about the need for accessible services for people with disabilities. The goal of the campaign, the “Listen and Learn Tour,” is to identify and train local people who are interested in advocacy around disability rights issues, including education and housing. Stigma in rural counties, especially for people who have mental health disorders, is particularly acute, according to experts. (Deseret News, 10/24/04)

Treatments and Pharmaceuticals

The FDA has given Cyberonics conditional approval to make its implantable vagus nerve stimulator available to up to 100 people who have life-threatening, treatment resistant depression. The approval was made through an investigational device exemption, which allows the company to use the device for investigational purposes only. The device has already been approved for use in treating epilepsy. (The Wall Street Journal, 10/19/04)

Eli Lilly and Company announced that it is eliminating 1,000 jobs from the company due to “sharply” lower sales of its antipsychotic medication, Zyprexa, the company’s highest selling drug. Lilly also plans to close a research facility in North Carolina. Zyprexa sales have declined due to competition from other antipsychotic medications and physician concerns about report that the drug may cause weight gain and diabetes. (The Wall Street Journal, 10/21/04)

Calendar

December 15, 2004

CAMH Conference Call for Campaign Directors: 3-4 PM ET

January 24-26, 2005

NMHA Public Education Training Conference in San Francisco, Calif.

April 7, 2005

National Alcohol Screening Day

http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/alcohol.asp

May 2005

Mental Health Month

May 3, 2005

Childhood Depression Awareness Day

May 4, 2005

National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day

http://www.freedomfromfear.com/

June 9-11, 2005

NMHA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

www.nmha.org

November 1, 2004

DID YOU KNOW?

… Some types of stress can produce an enzyme that inhibits short-term memory and worsen the symptoms of some mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

State News

Georgia: The state reopened the Augusta Youth Development Campus this week, which was closed earlier this year due to allegations of mismanagement. Before closing, the facility housed up to 120 “mentally fragile” boys, some of whom had been convicted of violent crimes. Management of the facility had been turned over to a private company after some teens alleged that facility personnel had provided many teens pornography and drugs, and had taken money from some kids to let them fight. The reopened facility will have the “very best mental health care to youthful offenders,” according to the state juvenile justice director. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/31/04)

Research

Pharmaceuticals: The antipsychotic medication Risperdal appears to be effective in calming disruptive behavior in children who have developmental disorders, according to Canadian researchers. Side effects include sleepiness and increased weight gain, pulse rate and blood pressure.  (Reuters Health, 11/1/04)

International: Depression costs China about $3.6 billion annually in lost productivity, a new study indicates. The study, conducted by Social and Economic Burden of Depression, an international group, also show that caregivers of people who have depression spend up to 25 percent of their annual income in helping the people in their care. (Reuters Health, 10/29/04)

Smoking: People who regularly smoke and drink caffeine are at a much higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke due to increased stiffness in their aortas, a new study indicates. ( Reuters Health, 11/1/04)

November 15, 2004

DID YOU KNOW?

… The more often a person is hospitalized for depression or bipolar disorder, the greater the likelihood that the person will develop dementia.

TODAY'S NEWS

Trauma

“The war [in Iraq] has produced more significant stress injuries than any conflict since Vietnam,” according to Navy Captain Bill Nash, a psychiatrist who heads the Marines' Operational Stress Control Readiness program in Iraq. "And you'd have to be exceptionally optimistic and using massive denial to believe we are not going to generate a hell of a lot more of these stress injuries before we are done here." Although seeking mental health help is gaining acceptance in the military as a result of the fighting in Iraq, most soldiers and Marines engage in denial and disassociation because by dealing with it, “you can’t do what you need to do,” said one Marine. Said another Marine, “God help somebody who pushes the wrong button on a kid who’s been through these things.”

Medicare

About 7 million low-income Medicare recipients will see their prescription drug costs fall by an average of 80 percent once the program’s drug benefit begins in 2006, a Kaiser Family Foundation study indicates. Most Medicare beneficiaries, however, will either see their drug costs fall on average by a more modest 28 percent or increase slightly. Among those who will see their drug costs increase are older adults who will be shifted from state Medicaid programs to Medicare, where they’ll be responsible for a $250 annual deductible for prescription drugs. (Dow Jones Newswires, 11/22/04)

State News

California: A nonprofit, anti-crime group, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, has proposed using most of the funds raised by Proposition 63 to be used for programs that prevention juvenile crime. Proposition 63, which California voters passed earlier this month, places a special tax on those who earn incomes of more than $1 million to help fund the state’s mental health services. The group’s recommendation was endorsed by the California Police Chiefs Association. About 80 percent of children and teens in the state’s juvenile justice system have a mental health disorder, according to Fight Crime. “I’d rather treat the mentally ill in the community than in jails,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. (Associated Press, 11/17/04)

Florida: The number of girls incarcerated in the state for violent crimes has increased by 24 percent from 1993 to 2003 to nearly 2,000, according to the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice. During the same period, the number of boys incarcerated for violent crimes rose by only 2 percent. (Miami Herald, 11/23/04)

Michigan: The Mental Health Association (MHA) of Michigan lauded the governor’s mental health commission for its recently released final report, and called on the governor and legislature to begin planning for the implementation of the commission’s key recommendations. Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed the commission a year ago to make recommendations to improve public mental health services for adults and children. In particular, the MHA highlighted seven areas for action, including the need for greater uniformity in service management across the state and the need to adopt a mental health insurance parity law. (Law and Health Weekly, 11/23/04)

New Jersey: The first act of Acting Gov. Richard Codey on taking office last week was to have breakfast with patients institutionalized at a state psychiatric hospital, according to an editorial. In 1987, as a state senator, Codey, who has made reforming the state’s mental health system his top priority, assumed the identity of a deceased felon and took a job as an orderly at another psychiatric hospital. His report of what he saw led to the hospital’s closing and criminal background checks for psychiatric hospital employees. State residents “should be reassured to discover that he is a politician who not only talks the talk of compassion but has a long record of walking the walk,” the editorial concludes. ( The Times of Trenton [N.J.], 11/18/04)

Tennessee: A federal judge recommended last week that former Gov. Ned McWherter serve as mediator in negotiations to save the state’s Medicaid program, TennCare. The current governor, Phil Bredesen, has suggested scrapping the financially-troubled program and replacing it with a stripped-down version that would cut off benefits to 430,000 people. State attorneys and lawyers for the Tennessee Justice Center, an advocacy organization that has sued the governor over his plans, said that they would consider the mediator proposal. (Dow Jones Newswires, 11/19/04)

Wisconsin: The state’s 1998 “truth in sentencing” law, which virtually eliminated parole for prison inmates whose crimes were committed on or after Dec. 31, 1999, will cost the state an additional $1.8 billion, at least through the end of next year. For the first time, the amount of money the state spends on prisons is almost equal to what it spends on its university system. As a result, the waiting lists in prisons for educational and treatment services have grown significantly, while prison wardens report increased incidents of bad behavior. ( Milwaukee [Wis.] Journal Sentinel, 11/21/04)