News and Commentary from the

Treatment Advocacy Center

October 2019

Below is a summary of recent developments and compelling stories from news outlets across the country that help to highlight America's broken mental health treatment system, and ways we can help fix it.

"Evans police, North Range tout benefits of co-responder program on mental health-related 911 response"

In a piece in the Greeley Tribune, Treatment Advocacy Center research on the nation-wide psychiatric bed shortage is cited, explaining the cause of the mental health crisis. According to the Evans Police Department, more than a hundred calls to the "Co-Responder Light Program" just in 2019. As we noted in our 2019 report Road Runners, law enforcement continues to play an outsized role in psychiatric crisis response. Read that piece here.

"Breen unveils $200M plan to fix mental illness crisis, calls for 'serious changes'"

The city of San Francisco continues its search for solutions to its "deepening" mental health crisis. The feature out of the San Francisco Chronicle includes Mayor London Breed's new plan, 'UrgentCareSF' which would pump $200 million more dollars into mental health services, on top of the nearly $400 million it already spends. 800 more treatment beds would also be opened in the city. That story is here.

Central Florida News 13 In-Focus

Our executive director John Snook was featured on a Panel of criminal justice and sheriffs for Spectrum News in Florida. The segment comes as Pasco County has created a new mental health unit to address the ongoing mental health crisis. You can check that clip out here.

Treatment Advocacy Center founder Dr E. Fuller Addresses APA as Keynote Speaker

In an address celebrating his long career to the American Psychiatric Association's IPS Mental Health Services Conference in New York, Dr. Torrey once again called out the failure by NIMH to prioritize serious mental illness care. He called on IPS to prioritize serious mental illness and the care needed by tens of thousands of Americans who have been discharged from state hospitals.

SPOTLIGHT:

Treatment Advocacy Center Hosts National AOT Symposium and Learning Collaborative

Nearly 250 Advocates, Officials, Family Members Gather in Columbus, Ohio

Over two days, symposium participants discussed best practices, explored common challenges, and celebrated success stories with AOT experts from across the nation.

The symposium also celebrated the release of a first-of-its-kind AOT white paper. Released by SMI Adviser and authored by the Treatment Advocacy Center and Northeast Ohio Medical Center, the white paper sets forth essential elements of an AOT program and provides 10 building blocks for establishing and maintaining a new AOT program.

The national AOT symposium was sponsored by Peg’s Foundation, a long-time Treatment Advocacy Center partner whose mission is to improve the lives of people with serious mental illness by investing in innovative projects in Northeast Ohio having national transformational impact.

RESEARCH WEEKLY: October Recap

The first of our October Research Weekly posts took a look at the state of New York, and whether or not those with SMI may be treated differently by the criminal justice system compared to those not experiencing serious mental illness. The results for misdemeanor offenses might help, according to the authors, explain the high prevalence of individuals with SMI in correctional facilities. Read more, here .

Is there a relation between volunteering and individuals experiencing serious mental illness? This month our team looked at evidence out of California which sought to determine whether volunteering also improves health for people with SMI. The research found they may, in fact, have better perceptions of their overall health. Check it out here.

One of the newest ways being looked at to expand treatment access are psychiatric bed registries. Researchers from RTI International examined 17 states that have bed tracking systems to see what impact they may have in improving efficiencies, and expanding treatment. What's clear, our team found, was that bed registries have an important function in providing evidence to the gaps in the psychiatric treatment system. A must read, here.

Finally, in the October Research Roundup, we highlighted our datapoint of the month: Only one in four women with SMI receive a breast cancer screening. According to a research published this year, the percentage of women receiving screenings in the past year is 17 points lower for those with SMI than the national average. That, along with the research of the month, can be read here.

To receive Research Weekly directly in your email inbox on a weekly basis, click here.

Treatment Advocacy Center | www.TreatmentAdvocacyCenter.org