The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the availability of $195 million in a new funding opportunity for community health centers to expand access to mental health and substance abuse services focusing on the treatment, prevention and awareness of opioid abuse in all U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia. The awards are expected to be made in September of this year. Full Story

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released its Behavioral Health Barometer, United States, Volume 4 report which provides a powerful overview of the nation’s behavioral health. The Barometer includes key behavioral health issues such as the prevalence of substance use, serious mental illness, serious thoughts of suicide, and related treatment. Full Story

Hospitalizations involving opioid pain relievers and heroin increased 75% for women between 2005 and 2014, a jump that significantly outpaced the 55% increase among men, according to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Because of the accelerated rates among women during that 10-year period, women and men were hospitalized at virtually the same rate nationwide in 2014 – about 225 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, according to AHRQ’s analysis. Full Story

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and United Counseling Service are partnering to enhance coordination of mental health services for emergency room and hospitalized patients, reported the Bennington Banner. The medical center has worked in the past with UCS to serve patients having a mental health crisis, said Dr. Trey Dobson, a specialist in emergency medicine and chief medical officer at SVMC. However, those mental health professionals were primarily focused on disposition of the case, such as placement in either an out-patient program or an in-patient facility. "The difference now," Dobson said, "is that not only for these patients in crisis do we have a psychiatric provider available for treatment, but for patients that present to our facility for another, medical reason but have a contaminant psychiatric issue, we have access to psychiatrists and psychiatric practitioners." Full Story

Imaging Dementia – Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) Study is working with government and academic researchers to launch three add-on studies to expand the impact of the core study where more than 18,000 people with cognitive decline but an unclear diagnosis will receive an amyloid PET scan. Participants in the $100 million IDEAS Study may elect to participate in one or all of the related research studies, which are designed to expand the understanding of the aging brain and provide insight for potential dementia treatments. Similar to the groundbreaking Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), IDEAS and its add- on studies will create a massive database of information and samples that scientists worldwide can access and analyze. Full Story

SAMHSA is recruiting peer (grant) reviewers for behavioral health funding initiatives. SAMHSA's Office of Financial Resources, Division of Grant Review (DGR), is responsible for coordinating the peer-review process for non-formula discretionary grant applications submitted for funding. Peer reviewers are an invaluable and critical component of the non-formula discretionary grant review process. The primary role of the SAMHSA peer reviewer is to conduct an expert, equitable, and objective assessment of each grant application in relation to the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) evaluation criteria as well as provide accurate feedback to SAMHSA and the applicants. To ensure a fair and objective review, the DGR selects reviewers based on their knowledge, skills, and expertise related to the grant program under review. Full Story

The new American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) National Healthcare Disaster Certification is the first interprofessional certification designed to verify the competence of the individual disaster health care professional. Click here to learn more.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a new online tool that will help Veterans compare various treatment options for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The PTSD Treatment Decision Aid is a free, interactive online tool that helps educate patients about effective treatment options for PTSD and encourages them to participate actively in decisions about their care. Full Story

More than 234,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) are licensed in the U.S., according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), which recently released its latest count. The workforce has nearly doubled since 2007 when there were an estimated 120,000 NPs. The faith that patients have in NP-provided health care is evidenced by the more than 1.02 billion estimated visits made to NPs annually. Full Story

On May 9 and 10, 2017 the FDA held a public meeting to discuss issues and challenges associated with Federal efforts to support training for health care providers on pain management and the safe prescribing, dispensing, and patient use of opioids. The meeting consisted of panel discussions, presentations and two open public hearings. FDA is seeking public comments concerning the changes they have proposed to the education requirements for prescribers of long acting opioids. The call for public comment is open until July 10, 2017. Full Story

The American Nurses Association (ANA) collaborated with Avalere to author a white paper which explores using optimal nurse staffing models to achieve improvements in patient outcomes. The paper highlights key findings that show how optimal staffing is essential to providing quality patient care and explores staffing models to expand thinking beyond nurse-to-patient ratios. Full Story

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced funding of up to $44.6 million for the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers Cooperative Agreements. The purpose of this program is to develop the healthcare workforce to treat substance use disorders and support recovery. Grantees will establish a network to collaborate with each other and SAMHSA to improve treatment and recovery. The newly created network will feature a National Coordinating Office and 10 regional centers spread around the country. Full Story

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