APNA Joins Forces with First Lady Obama and Dr. Biden to Support Veterans and Military Families
First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden announced a commitment from nurses across the nation to take action in providing our service members and their families the support and treatment they need as they reconnect with their communities, particularly when it comes to employment, education, and wellness. APNA, proud to lend its voice to this initiative, is pleased to work in conjunction with the American Nurses Association (ANA), who is coordinating a major campaign to ensure that our nation's nurses are prepared to meet the unique health needs of service members, veterans, and their families. APNA and 150 other nursing organizations have committed to educating current and future nurses on how to recognize and care for veterans impacted by post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression, and other combat-related issues, in ways appropriate to each nurse's practice setting. Full Story

Special Skills for PMH Nurses: New Session!
Part 3 of a 4 part series to promote psychiatric mental health evidence-based nursing practice, this webinar, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:  Foundation, Application, and Implementation, will help PMHRNs use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to encourage patients to have self identification and personal growth within specific disorders. Click here for more info.

Announcing the Candidates for the 2012 APNA Elections!
APNA has begun the 2012 Elections process! This is an exciting time at APNA - we have an exceptional Board and dedicated staff working to provide the membership with opportunities for education, participation, and networking. A position on the APNA Board of Directors or Nominating Committee is both personally and professionally rewarding. The 2012 Nominating Committee has posted the slate of candidates for the 2012 elections on APNA.org. Click here to view.

CPI is just around the bend!
Don't forget to register before June 1st to receive the early bird registration rate. This year's program, with a theme of Partners for Recovery: Integrative Treatments and Complex Psychiatric Disorders and the chance to earn up to 23.25 contact hours, will feature a wide range of cutting edge topics in psychopharmacology across the lifespan.

Register Now! Early Bird Rate for APNA Members: $395 (Early Bird Deadline: June 1, 2012)

Members of the Alzheimer's Advisory Council, approved a comprehensive set of recommendations that would, if accepted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), complement the important strategies and action steps included in the current draft of the first-ever National Alzheimer's Plan. Full Story

SAMHSA released Mental Health, United States, 2010, the latest in a series of publications issued biannually by SAMHSA since 1980. This new report includes mental health statistics at the national and State levels from 35 different data sources. Click here to download the report.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Amyvid (Florbetapir F 18 Injection) a drug for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging of the brain in adults who are being evaluated for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other causes of cognitive decline. Full Story

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved generic versions of the atypical antipsychotic medication, Seroquel (quetiapine). Seroquel is commonly prescribed to treat symptoms of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Full Story

The growing number of psychiatric disorders, and subsequent labels assigned to patients, may make it harder for those patients to get the support they need, reported PsychCentral.com. According to a new study, people who show signs of depression and other common mental illnesses are less likely to get a supportive response from friends and family members as are people with other severe mental disorders. Full Story

New legislation introduced in Congress would provide federal recognition and support for community behavioral health organizations that meet the criteria to become Federally Qualified Community Behavioral Health Centers (FQCBHCs). The Excellence in Mental Health Act (S. 2257) would expand access to mental health and addictions care by supporting FQCBHCs in treating all individuals regardless of their ability to pay, with a comprehensive array of outpatient behavioral health services and screening for key diseases like hypertension or diabetes. Under this legislation, FQCBHCs would be paid a bundled per-visit rate that shares risk with the federal government and meets their cost of providing services. Full Story To read the National Council's FQCBHC fact sheet, click here. (PDF file)

On April 10, 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the selection of the first 27 accountable care organizations (ACOs) to participate in the Medicare Shared Saving Program (Shared Savings Program).  The selected organizations have agreed to be responsible for improving care for nearly 375,000 beneficiaries in eighteen states through better coordination among providers.  All ACOs that succeed in providing high quality care - as measured by performance on 33 quality measures relating to care coordination and patient safety, use of appropriate preventive health services, improved care for at-risk populations, and the patient experience of care - while reducing the costs of care - may share in the savings to Medicare. Full Story

Click here to read the proceedings from the NASMHPD and NASADAD Joint Congressional Briefing on March 22.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is Accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.