Register Now: Virtual APNA Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute
The APNA 18th Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute will be held virtually this June 11-14 and will provide up to 23 contact hours in pharmacology! Each day features opportunities to connect with your fellow attendees, earn pharmacology contact hours with the latest insights, and ask questions in real time about the topics presented. Check out the virtual schedule, stay tuned for more updates, and lock in your registration now: www.apna.org/CPI

COVID-19 and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses
As circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic change, psychiatric-mental health nurses continue to provide crucial mental health care to individuals who need it. To support your work, here is a collection of resources, including policy updates, self-care tips, upcoming webinars, and more. View Now

APNA Elections Open
Make your voice heard by voting in this year's APNA elections! By casting your vote for the APNA Board of Directors and 2021 Nominating Committee, you can help shape the future of your profession. Get to know the candidates with this online election guide and then vote now!

Take a Moment for Your Mental Health
Access this quick session for easy ways to manage your stress in the moment with the practice of mindfulness. It is free for everyone and comes with 0.5 contact hours, so please share it with your fellow nurses or clinicians in need: Mindfulness in the Workplace: Practical Application

Year of the Nurse: Janet York, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN
In celebration of the Year of the Nurse, each newsletter is highlighting a psychiatric-mental health nursing leader.
"I believe we psychiatric nurses are well-equipped to respond to others and allow them to lean on us. What brought us to this field, what we learn in our education and practice, and what we continue to gain from our colleagues, equips us to support and educate those around us in our everyday life... Stay healthy and strong for yourself, those in your lives, your patients, and our profession." Hear more from Jan in her reflection on the COVID-19 pandemic and PMH nurses' assets and opportunities.

Free Rooms at Hilton Hotels
With ANA digital membership included with APNA membership, APNA members get access to this offer of support from ANA: Free nights at Hilton Hotels! This ANA member benefit, designed to give you peace of mind and help keep your family and loved ones safe while you work on the front lines, is made possible through ANA's partnership with the American Nurses Foundation, Hilton, and American Express. Click here to log in and take advantage of this offer.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has expedited its process to release emergency grants to strengthen access to treatments for substance use disorders and serious mental illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only two weeks ago, the grant opportunities were announced and posted to SAMHSA’s website as part of the Trump administration’s comprehensive effort to meet the needs of Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This week, SAMHSA, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is releasing much-needed funding to successful applicants across America. Full Story

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) released the Spanish-language edition of the NAMI COVID-19 Information and Resources Guide, NAMI COVID-19 Información y Recursos. This guide addresses frequently asked questions and lists resources available in Spanish. Full Story

A recent Nurse.org article shares 10 mental health tips for nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak. Full Story

The American Nurses Foundation (the Foundation), the philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association (ANA), launched the Coronavirus Response Fund for Nurses. Through this initiative, members of the public can demonstrate their appreciation and support for nurses who are on the frontline caring for patients during this pandemic, despite significant risk to their well-being and safety. Full Story

A global group of suicide experts is urging governments around the world to take action to prevent a possible jump in suicide rates because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, reported MedScape. In a commentary published online April 21 in Lancet Psychiatry, members of the International COVID-19 Suicide Prevention Research Collaboration warn that suicide rates are likely to rise as the pandemic spreads and its ensuing long-term effects on the general population, economy, and vulnerable groups emerge. Full Story

A new report  published by the World Health Organization, The State of the World’s Nursing 2020, provides an in-depth look at the largest component of the health workforce. Findings identify important gaps in the nursing workforce and priority areas for investment in nursing education, jobs, and leadership to strengthen nursing around the world and improve health for all. Full Story The APNA Board of Directors adopted this report as an official position of APNA earlier this month.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is accepting applications for the Advanced Nursing Education Nurse Practitioner Residency Integration Program (ANE-NPRIP). The program prepares new primary care or behavioral health nurse practitioners to work in integrated, community-based settings. Approximately $5,000,000 available in FY 2020 to fund five awards. Application closes on June 8, 2020. Click here for more information.

President Trump reauthorized the Older Americans Act for five years on Mar. 25, 2020, signing into law H.R. 4334, the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020. The OAA was last reauthorized in 2016 under President Obama. The legislation, according to the senators, ensures that those living with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease are included in key OAA services, reported McKnight's Senior Living. Full Story

On Apr. 24, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act - an “interim” step ahead of the fourth stimulus package that will provide $484 billion to aid coronavirus (COVID-19) response efforts. In addition to replenishing the small business program, this measure will direct $310 billion to additional lending authority for personal protective equipment, $75 billion to hospitals and $25 billion to testing resources at the state-level. Full Story

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing a rule that further advances efforts to strengthen the Medicare program by better aligning payments for inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) with the costs of providing care. The proposed rule would update Medicare payment policies and rates for the IPF Prospective Payment System (PPS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021.  In this proposed rule CMS is proposing a 2.6% payment rate update and proposing to adopt the most recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) statistical area delineations resulting in wage index values being more representative of the actual costs of labor in a given area. Full Story

In Massachusetts, nurse practitioners have been temporarily cleared to see patients without a doctor's supervision as the state maneuvers to fill a shortage of medical personnel dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. An order issued Mar. 27 allows state-certified nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, midwives and psychiatric nurse specialists with at least two years of supervised practice to give physicals, prescribe medicine and perform other functions more independently from physicians. The changes are temporary, and the expanded scope of nurse practitioners expires after the state of emergency is lifted , reported The Salem News. Full Story

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services continues to temporarily loosen regulatory requirements to give nurses and other providers more flexibility during the crisis, including the ability to practice to their full scope. Many of these waivers, which take effect immediately and last for the duration of the public health emergency, target federal standards that are more stringent than states’ scope-of-practice laws. You can view the full list of waivers in effect by clicking here.

The Alzheimer’s Association is offering new guidance to help ensure the delivery of high-quality care for people living with Alzheimer’s and all dementia in long-term care and community-based settings during the current COVID-19 crisis. The document is in collaboration with 34 long-term care and community-based care providers and affiliated associations. It identifies important care considerations and incorporates evidence-based strategies from the Alzheimer’s Association Dementia Care Recommendations to assist staff in long-term and community-based care settings during emergency situations. Full Story

The Trump Administration released a new toolkit for states to help accelerate adoption of broader telehealth coverage policies in the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Full Story

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) released a new toolkit to help state and local healthcare decision makers maximize workforce flexibilities when confronting 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in their communities. Full Story

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.