News and Commentary from the
Treatment Advocacy Center
July 2020
Below is a summary of recent developments and compelling news stories from across the country highlighting America's broken mental health treatment system and how to fix it.
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Treatment Advocacy Center in the News |
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Unpolicing Mental Health
Treatment Advocacy Center's statistics on fatal law enforcement encounters were cited in an article about Denver, Colorado's new Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program that dispatches social workers and health professionals instead of law enforcement in non-violent mental health crises. Treatment Advocacy Center Executive Director John Snook was interviewed, and discussed similar programs in San Francisco and New York. Read more here.
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National Mental Health Groups Sign Joint Letter Protesting the Execution of a Man with Severe Mental Illness
A letter signed by Treatment Advocacy Center Executive Director John Snook and the heads of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health America was the basis of a CNN.com story. The joint letter, sent to US Attorney General William Barr, called on Barr to stop the execution of Wesley Purkey, a man with severe mental illness, and instead commute his sentence to life in prison without parole.Read more here.
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Personally Speaking: Assisted Outpatient Treatment Saved My Life |
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Mental health advocate Eric Smith shared his story about how Assisted Outpatient Treatment "saved my life." Read more about his experience with AOT, and why this advocate believes severe mental illness shouldn't be a criminal justice matter, in a new Personally Speaking blog. You can now hear to Eric tell his story here.
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Dr. E. Fuller Torrey Receives NAMI 2020 Exemplary Psychiatrist Award |
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Treatment Advocacy Center Founder Dr. E. Fuller Torrey was named a 2020 Exemplary Psychiatrist by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The award honors "the extraordinary contributions that many psychiatrists make to improve the lives of people affected by mental illness." “I am honored to be named a 2020 Exemplary Psychiatrist by NAMI. Saving lives by reforming mental illness treatment law and policy has been my cause and my commitment for the last two decades,” said Dr. Torrey. Read more here.
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RESEARCH WEEKLY: July Recap
DATAPOINT of the month
Schizophrenia is #7 most costly condition for inpatient stays for Medicaid beneficiaries.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released this month the costliest conditions for inpatient hospital stays in 2017, by payer. Schizophrenia and other associated disorders, such as schizoaffective disorder, is in the top 10 (#7) of costly conditions for inpatient hospital stays for Medicaid beneficiaries, costing an estimated $1.5 billion in 2017. Schizophrenia does not appear in the top 20 costly conditions for other payers, including Medicare, private insurance or self-pay. Three of the top 20 most costly conditions for Medicaid include mental health or substance use disorders, with schizophrenia at #7, depressive disorders at #15 and alcohol disorders at #20.
Find all of this month's research highlights here.
To receive Research Weekly directly in your email inbox on a weekly basis, click here.
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