New APNA Telemental Health Toolkit is Here
This toolkit offers telemental health pearls and resources around national policy considerations; issues of equity, inclusion, and access; measuring outcomes; logistical concerns; and education strategies. Created by the APNA Telemental Health Task Force, this toolkit ensures you have expert-vetted information about key aspects of telemental health at your fingertips. Access the Toolkit

Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Survey
As APNA begins its search for a new Editor-in-Chief, we would appreciate your perspective on the journal. Take the Survey

APNA Integrated Care Position Paper Now Available
With the high prevalence of co-morbidities and diverse cultural backgrounds within community populations, it is imperative to strengthen a collaborative, interprofessional approach to care through integrated care models that minimize barriers and improve quality of services across a range of mental and physical health problems. This new resource articulates the APNA position that integrated care consistent with patient-centered concepts is critical to improving patient outcomes and achieving a whole health approach to care. Read & Share the Position Paper

Registration Now Open for the APNA Annual Conference
Registration is open now for the APNA 37th Annual Conference, the event moving psychiatric-mental health nursing forward through the exploration of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and de-Stigmatization (IDEAS). It’s coming to Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort on October 4-7 (virtual livestream option available). Learn More & Register Today!

Celebrate the 2023 APNA Board of Directors Student Scholars
Join the APNA Board of Directors in celebrating the 2023 APNA Board of Directors Student Scholars! These 30 amazing nursing students have been awarded scholarships to attend the APNA 37th Annual Conference on October 4-7 at Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Florida, as well as a complimentary one-year membership in APNA. Meet the Student Scholars.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has identified a number of mental health conditions associated with long COVID, prompting them to issue an advisory to help doctors treat patients suffering from the syndrome. Conditions could include depression, anxiety, psychosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Other long COVID symptoms can include fatigue, trouble sleeping and cognitive impairment. Full Story

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recommended that providers routinely screen all adult patients under 65 for anxiety disorder, reported HealthDay.com. An APA poll conducted in May found that 37% of Americans felt more anxious this year than at this time last year, representing an increase of 5%. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), launched the new Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program, a $15 million investment to recruit and retain clinicians who provide health care to children and adolescents. In exchange for three years of service working in a health professional shortage area, medically underserved area, or providing care to a medically underserved population, the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program provides up to $100,000 to eligible clinicians providing pediatric medical subspecialty, pediatric surgical specialty, or child and adolescent behavioral health care, including substance use prevention and treatment services. The application deadline is July 20, 2023, at 7:30 pm ET. Full Story

Most parents and caregivers said they supported mental health screening for their children in primary care settings, according to a multinational survey. Annual screening was preferred by 64.9% of respondents, while 23.3% preferred quarterly screening, reported MedPageToday.com. Full Story

A novel tool may have the potential to identify which patients experiencing suicidal ideation who present to the emergency department (ED) should be admitted to hospital and which patients can be safely discharged, new research suggests. Investigators found the abbreviated Suicide Crisis Syndrome Checklist (A-SCS-C) "shows robust clinical utility and may actually reduce the limitations of relying on self-reported suicidal ideation to determine suicide risk," study co-author Lisa Cohen, PhD, clinical professor of psychiatry, Carl Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, told Medscape Medical News. Full Story

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a new data report Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Behavioral Health: Results from the 2021 and 2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, indicating that lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults are more likely than straight adults to use substances, experience mental health conditions including major depressive episodes, and experience serious thoughts of suicide. Full Story

Many of the changes to the brain that happen during Alzheimer’s disease may also appear in the retina, according to a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded study. The findings, published in Acta Neuropathologica, provide important insights on the effects of Alzheimer’s on the retina and suggest that noninvasive methods of monitoring the retina might be a way to reliably detect and track the disease. Full Story

A new study in rats suggests that xylazine, the active ingredient in a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer not approved for human use, can worsen the life-threatening effects of opioids. The findings imply that when used in combination with opioid drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, xylazine may damage the ability of the brain to get enough oxygen, which is one of the most dangerous effects of opioid drugs and can lead to death. Full Story

An Advisory Committee to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unanimously endorsed the efficacy and clinical benefit of lecanemab (Leqembi™, Eisai) as part of the traditional approval process for this treatment. Leqembi, an anti-amyloid treatment, changes the course of Alzheimer’s and delivers clear clinical benefit for people in the early stages of the disease. The next regulatory step toward traditional approval of the treatment is FDA review. The FDA has granted Priority Review to Leqembi for the traditional approval application, with required action from the agency by July 6, 2023. Full Story

The American College of Emergency Physicians, Emergency Nurses Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness said legislative and regulatory fixes are needed to reduce boarding, which occurs when patients are stuck in an emergency room as they wait for bed space in hospital wings or transfer to psychiatric hospitals or nursing homes, reported USA Today. According to an ACEP survey of emergency room doctors, 97% said boarding times exceeded one day. More than 1 in 4 doctors said patients waited more than two weeks to be admitted to their hospital or transferred to another place. Full Story

A bipartisan group of legislators has reintroduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act – first introduced in 2016 – to expand opportunities and coverage for telehealth through Medicare. This is the second time the bill has been reintroduced. CONNECT 2023 would expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make permanent COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities and make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors, reported HealthcareITNews.com. Full Story

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is releasing new details about how people can get drugs that may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease covered by Medicare. If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants traditional approval, then Medicare will cover the drug in appropriate settings that also support the collection of real-world information to study the usefulness of these drugs for people with Medicare. Specifically, Medicare will cover drugs with traditional FDA approval when a physician and clinical team participates in the collection of evidence about how these drugs work in the real world, also known as a registry. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), awarded $5.9 million to states, tribes and college campuses for youth suicide prevention programs. 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 as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.