President's Message: Why We Do What We Do
It is easy to feel adrift right now. In the face of so much need and uncertainty, any one of us might feel like a single drop in the ocean. That is simply not true. For many, we are the entire ocean. Read more

Member News
Griselle Batista Estrada named Fellow of the Month by the Minority Fellowship Program; Laura Leahy named nurse lead mentor by PCSS; Haylie Lorca attends Mental Health Awareness Day mayoral proclamation signing; Brandy Mechling conducts research on children of parents with opioid use disorders; Bernadette Melnyk publishes study on critical care nurse stress, depression, and anxiety. Learn More

Nurses in Action: Celebrating Nurses Month
In honor of Nurses Month, APNA members shared their thoughts on the impact of psychiatric-mental health nurses. Here's what they said:

• "As PMH nursing colleagues, we've come together to be a resource & support for each other, which has been critical to our own well-being!"
• "Psychiatric-mental health nurses are indeed those drops that represent the ocean of mental health care. Let’s continue to dive deeper and use our skills for ourselves, our clients, and the communities we serve."
• "A nurse transcends self-awareness knowing that you have the ability to influence others on how to be a better version of one self regardless of the circumstances or situation you are in."
•  "In my current position, I am treated to spontaneous smiles from patients as well as my coworkers being happy to see me...There are a lot of reasons to do what we do!"

Featured Resource: The Family Presence Policy Decision-Making Toolkit
APNA recently endorsed a new decision-making tool from Planetree International and the American Nurses Foundation that aims to help hospitals and nursing homes implement visitation policies that balance safety, infection control, & the critical need for family support at the bedside. Learn More

PMH: It's Time to Spell it Out
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) has released new guidance on credentials to help psychiatric-mental health nurses more effectively show their role. Read More

Vote Now in the APNA Elections
Make your voice heard & help choose the next members of the APNA Board of Directors & 2022 Nominating Committee: cast your vote in the APNA Elections! The deadline to submit your ballot is July 26. Vote Now

Last Chance to Register for CPI!
Less than two weeks remain to register for the APNA 19th Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute! Connect virtually with your psychiatric-mental health nursing community while earning 21.5 pharmacology contact hours this June 10-13. Browse the Program  |  Register Now

New Members: 687 New Members since March!

New research suggests that depression and inflammation are biologically linked ― a finding that may have important implications for patients whose condition fails to respond to treatment with antidepressants, reported MedScape.com. In the largest-ever examination of genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and medical drivers of inflammation in major depressive disorder (MDD), levels of the key inflammation marker C-reactive protein (CRP) were higher in patients with depression than in those with no mental disorder. Full Story

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing BioXcel Therapeutics’s New Drug Application (NDA) for BXCL501 for the treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders I and II, reported Psychiatric Times. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration, is making available about $14.2 million from the American Rescue Plan to expand pediatric mental healthcare access by integrating telehealth services into pediatric primary care. The funding will expand Pediatric Mental Health Care Access projects into new states and geographic areas across the U.S., including in tribal areas. Full Story

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is distributing $3 billion in American Rescue Plan funding — the largest aggregate amount of funding to date for its mental health and substance use block grant programs. The Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) Program and Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program (SABG) will disperse $1.5 billion each to states and territories (with the latter also awarding money to a tribe). This follows the March announcement of supplemental funding of nearly $2.5 billion for these programs. SAMHSA, an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has expedited federal funding to grantees to help communities grappling with mental health and substance use needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full Story

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a higher dose naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray product to treat opioid overdose. The newly approved product delivers 8 milligrams (mg) of naloxone into the nasal cavity. The FDA had previously approved 2 mg and 4 mg naloxone nasal spray products. Full Story

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released data highlighting the continued impact the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) is having on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries and utilization of health services. The data show that, from March through October 2020, beneficiaries have foregone millions of primary, preventive, and mental health care visits due to the COVID-19 PHE, compared to the same time period in 2019. Although utilization rates for some treatments have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, mental health services show the slowest rebound. Full Story

Motor problems in children may be a harbinger of serious mental illness, new research suggests. Investigators found that motor abnormalities were twice as common among those who develop psychosis or depression compared to their counterparts in the general population, suggesting that these abnormalities may help predict vulnerability and provide an opportunity for early intervention, reported MedScape.com. Full Story

It is estimated that a new record of more than 325,000 NPs are licensed to practice in the U.S. as of Dec. 2020. This number underscores the significant contributions that NPs are making to improve the health of our nation. NPs throughout the country are meeting the needs of patients and creating greater access to care. Full Story

Demand for nurses will only grow post-pandemic, as will the rigors of the job, according to the paper published from the National Academy of Medicine and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For the profession to meet the needs of the population over the next decade, a substantial increase in the amount, type and distribution of nurses across geographic areas, specialties and care settings is needed, reported HealthcareDive.com. Full Story

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a package of mental health-related legislation brought forth by the Energy and Commerce Committee. The package of bills, previously passed by the House in the 116th Congress, would help prevent suicide, expand diagnosis and treatment for substance use disorders, increase mental health screenings in the emergency room and overall, and support patients with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Full Story

Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed a 2022 Georgia state budget that restores some money to K-12 education, increases some mental health funding, and pays nursing home operators more. The plan puts back $58.9 million in cuts that were made last year in the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Georgia's main mental health agency, restoring funding for addiction treatment and creating a new behavioral crisis unit for those with developmental disabilities. It also increases payments for some mental health providers, reported NewPressNow.com. Full Story

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a Behavioral Health Coordinating Council to address the mental health and substance use disorders that have increased during the pandemic, reported MedpageToday.com. The council's primary goal is to facilitate collaborative, innovative, transparent, equitable, action-oriented approaches to addressing the nation's behavioral health needs. Full Story

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) released The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity (2021) report. The vision and recommendations in this report offered by an expert committee strive for health equity in the U.S. by strengthening the capacity and expertise of nursing. The recommendations focus on current and future challenges impacting the nursing workforce, its leadership, and education in order to reduce health disparities and address social determinants of health to advance health equity. Full Story

Click here to see letters APNA has signed on to as a part of its participation in coalitions that further policy for nursing and mental health.

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.