President's Message: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses Leading by Example
Are you looking for some uplifting examples of psychiatric-mental health nursing leadership? Then read on! Members’ Corner is the perfect place to highlight examples of members who have done exactly what I’ve been talking about all year: unleashing our inner leaders. I am so proud of the many ways that our members, councils, and committees have demonstrated extraordinary leadership this year. (Cont'd)

In Your Own Words: Psych Nurses' Stories
This month, we hear from Nwachi Chigbundu, a nurse providing care to inner city New York: Prior to psychiatric-mental health nursing, I had other nursing experiences, including surgery, maternal child health, school nurse, and home visit nursing. However, psychiatric nursing is so different as it requires compassion and patience. (Cont'd)

Member News
Angela Amar and L. Kathleen Sekula pen feature on nursing and victims of violence; Victoria Bierman discusses new mental health nursing program at Radford University; Pamela Cacchione honored with Dean's Award for Exemplary Teaching; Debbie Koch named Nurse Educator of the Year by University of Arkansas Fort Smith; Bernadette Melnyk named 2016 Champion of Healthcare by Columbus Business First; Marian Newton named Gator Nurse Great by the University of Florida; Kathryn Raymond profiled for receiving PhD alongside her daughter; Laura Cox Dzurec, Karen J. Foli, Victoria Menzies, and Mary Weber to be inducted as new Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing. (Learn More)

11 Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses Honored with APNA Annual Awards
The APNA Annual Awards recognize APNA members who demonstrate excellence in psychiatric-mental health nursing. This year, 11 psychiatric-mental health nurses will be honored at the APNA 30th Annual Conference for their dedication to their craft. Get to know Barbara Jones Warren, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FNAP, FAAN, 2016 Psychiatric Nurse of the Year, and Julie Carbray, PhD, FMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC, the recipient of the APNA Award for Distinguished Service:

• Meet Barbara, 2016 Psychiatric Nurse of the Year: Supporting the mental and physical well-being of others runs in the family for Barbara Jones Warren. “My father was the head of a department at a facility that had both physical and mental health recovery,” she recalls. “I spent a lot of time with him and the patients. I knew at 6 years of age that this was what I wanted to be!” (Cont'd)
  
• Meet Julie, 2016 Recipient of the Award for Distinguished Service: For Julie Carbray, psychiatric-mental health nursing is more than a career: it is a home. In her role as professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Carbray is the only nurse member of the Department of Psychiatry's faculty. “APNA has provided me with the nursing family I do not have in my work environment,” she says. (Cont'd)

Effective Treatments for Opioid Use Disorders
Help us educate and empower ALL nurses by spreading the word about these 3 webinars on effective treatments for opioid use disorders targeted to: registered nurses (1.25 contact hours), psychiatric-mental health nurses (1.25 contact hours), and advanced practice nurses (3.5 Rx contact hours). (Learn More)

APNA 30th Annual Conference: More Contact Hours
You can now earn up to 29.5 contact hours in sessions on-site at the APNA Annual Conference! As one past Annual Conference attendee says, “If you can go to only one conference a year, this is the one to attend. You will leave having learned so much about what is happening in your area of practice, and feel a sense of pride that you are a part of the psychiatric nursing profession."  Get more for less when you register by September 7 and save $75 with Early Bird Registration. (Learn More and Register)

New Resources to Support Violence Prevention
Developed by the APNA Violence Prevention Task Force, a new position paper and resource toolkit support psychiatric-mental health nurses in their efforts to prevent violence. Because of the trusting relationships between PMH nurses and those to whom they provide care, nurses are poised to be at the forefront of violence prevention. (View)

2016 Class of APNA Board of Directors Student Scholars Announced
30 students have been selected to receive complimentary registration, travel, and lodging expenses to the APNA 30th Annual Conference. These students will be identifiable at the Annual Conference by the "BOD Scholars" ribbons they will have on their name badges, so please reach out to them with congratulations, advice, and words of welcome. (See Full List)

APNF Selects 2016 Research Grant Recipient
Nicholas Guenzel, PhD, APRN has been chosen as the recipient of the 2016 APNF Research Grant. He will receive a $10,000 grant to fund his research, which focuses on historical trauma among urban American Indians. Guenzel is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing in Lincoln. (Learn More)

ANA Organizational Affiliate Meeting: Report from Marlene Nadler Moodie
As an affiliate of the American Nurses Association (ANA), two times each year APNA actively participates in the ANA's Organizational Affiliate (OA) meetings. APNA is a "premier" member, which means our members have additional benefits (including emembership with ANA). The OA meetings have been held for 10 years and are currently attended by 36 organizations. (Cont'd)

Resource Roundup

• Traumatic Events Resources: New SAMHSA data review on exposure to potentially traumatic events and posttraumatic stress in adults
• Substance Use Resources:Substance Use Warm Line, a free and confidential provider of expert clinical advice, now available
• Medication Updates: FDA approves first buprenorphine implant and 5 new buprenorphine and naloxone medications
• Press Releases:Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses Honored with 2016 Annual Awards; Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Central to Violence Prevention in Communities Says APNA; New Education to Combat Opioid Epidemic
• Affordable Care Act:Responses requested to brief survey on the ACA

New Members: 415 New Members since May!

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced several new actions the department is taking to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic. The actions include expanding access to buprenorphine, a medication to treat opioid use disorder, a proposal to eliminate any potential financial incentive for doctors to prescribe opioids based on patient experience survey questions, and a requirement for Indian Health Service prescribers and pharmacists to check state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) databases before prescribing or dispensing opioids for pain. In addition, the department is launching more than a dozen new scientific studies on opioid misuse and pain treatment and soliciting feedback to improve and expand prescriber education and training programs. Full Story

Of U.S. adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 1 in 9 report having had a major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year, according to findings come from a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Full Story

Young adults aged 18 to 25 with any mental illness (AMI) are less likely to receive mental health services than adults in other age groups, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The study found about two-thirds (66.4%) of young adults with AMI are not receiving mental health services. Full Story

In October 2015, results from the National Institutes of Mental Health's Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode: Early Treatment Program (RAISE-ETP) study were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The findings suggest that a multidisciplinary, community-based treatment approach can realistically be implemented and improve functional and clinical patient outcomes. Medscape recently hosted an email discussion among four researchers involved the study. Click here to read the discussion.

Although legislation has been introduced to limit the number of antipsychotic drugs used for patients with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses, the practice of prescribing multiple drugs remains an issue, reported PsychCentral.com. New research, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice, finds that at least 12% of patients are still prescribed multiple antipsychotics after an inpatient stay at a state psychiatric hospitals. Full Story

Telemedicine companies that have been landing a flurry of new contracts with employers and insurers to provide less expensive and more convenient medical consultations with physicians are now adding mental health services for their customers. MDLive, Teladoc and American Well are among the telehealth firms getting into the business of offering access to psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists via smartphone, tablet and computer, reported Forbes. Full Story

Only a fraction of Medicare patients who have opioid use disorder receive opioid agonist therapy (OAT) with buprenorphine-naloxone (multiple brands), say researchers, who found that nonspecialist physicians are the least likely to prescribe the drug. More than 6 in 1000 Medicare patients are diagnosed with the disorder; this translates to more than 300,000 affected individuals. However, an analysis of claims data revealed that only about 81,000 Medicare patients are receiving buprenorphine-naloxone therapy and that the drug is prescribed by just 1 in 40 family physicians who prescribe an opioid painkiller. Moreover, it is rarely used by pain specialists, reported Medscape. Full Story

An individualized program of follow-up treatment with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) combined with an antidepressant was effective in preventing relapse in patients 60 years and older who had had a successful initial course of treatment for severe depression. These findings add to evidence of the effectiveness and safety of ECT for depression treatment in this age group, and show, moreover, how ECT can be beneficial as a follow-up treatment to sustain recovery. The Prolonging Remission in Depressed Elderly (PRIDE) study was a multi-center clinical trial aimed at comparing two strategies—one with, and one without ECT—for sustaining the effects of ECT treatment for depression in patients over 60. Full Story

The brief 15-minute anonymous online health survey of AAN’s Health Behavior Expert Panel’s Million Hearts Subcommittee has been extended until the end of August 2016. The survey seeks information on the current health and healthy lifestyle behaviors of nurses in order to gain a perspective of how best to improve their cardiovascular health and wellness. It is also the first study of how cardiovascular risk differs among various nursing roles. As a thank you for completing the anonymous survey, nurses will be given access to a free online Million Hearts educational module that is focused on improving healthy lifestyle behaviors. The online educational module contains 5 dynamic and evidence-based lectures on improving health plus multiple interactive ways to encourage healthy lifestyle practices. Nurses will be able to access the survey by clicking here.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has undertaken the most comprehensive analysis of Veteran suicide rates in the U.S., examining over 55 million Veteran records from 1979 to 2014 from every state in the nation. The effort extends VA’s knowledge from the previous report issued in 2010, which examined  three million  Veteran records from 20 states were available. Based on the data from 2010, VA estimated the number of Veteran deaths by suicide averaged 22 per day. The current analysis indicates that in 2014, an average of 20 Veterans a day died from suicide. Full Story

In a major milestone for the millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made it easier for physicians to provide critical care and support services for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease. Following rapidly growing bipartisan support in Congress for the Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer’s Act (S. 857, H.R. 1559), CMS has proposed to begin paying for cognitive and functional assessment and care planning for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive impairments. Full Story

The State of Alaska’s SHARP-I Program is holding an application cycle for SHARP-I Carryover – Behavioral Health Solicitation from July 15, 2016 through September 8, 2016. This solicitation is open to behavioral health providers only. Alaska’s SHARP Program offers support-for-service in the form of educational loan repayment for successful applicants. The purpose of the SHARP Program is to provide clinicians in medically underserved areas of Alaska. This is a two year commitment. The anticipated start date is October 1 and may be flexible for a later start. Alaska licensure is required to begin program service but is not required at the time of application. Click here for more information.

The House Appropriations Committee recently approved an additional $350 million for Alzheimer’s disease research at the NIH. Full Story

In what is being hailed as the most sweeping drug addiction legislation in years, Congress mustered a bipartisan effort July 14 to pass a comprehensive bill to help tackle the nation’s opioid epidemic. The White House said President Obama would sign the bill. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 directs $181 million in new spending, with an expectation that lawmakers will approve nearly $500 million for opioid programs in the next budget year. It authorizes the U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of Health and Human Services to award state grants to address prescription opioid and heroin use in communities most impacted by the epidemic and an inter-agency task force to review best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication. A key provision in the legislation expands access to medication-assisted treatment by allowing Nurse Practitioners, for the first time, to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication used to reduce the risk of overdoses and treat opioid addiction. Full Story

The Pennsylvania Senate approved legislation that would allow nurse practitioners greater leeway to operate independently. Senators voted 41 to 9 in favor of the bill, S.B. 717, after adopting a provision governing requirements for nurse practitioners to operate without physician oversight. Under the provision, nurse practitioners must practice for three years and 3,600 hours under a collaborative agreement with two physicians before they can practice on their own, reported the Central Penn Business Journal. Full Story

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration should put in place a workplace violence prevention standard, National Nurses United said in a petition to the agency. The petition, announced July 11, dovetails with OSHA's stated goal to start work on a violence prevention standard for the health-care sector, announced in May, reported Bloomberg. Full Story

AmeriCares and the National Council for Behavioral Health have partnered to expand access to care for millions of low-income patients living with mental illness. Through the partnership, the National Council will raise awareness of AmeriCares new Mental Health Initiative among its 2,500 member organizations serving 10 million children, adults and families living with mental illness and addiction disorders. The National Council will also research the types of medication and behavioral health services most needed by low-income and uninsured patients to inform the growth of the Mental Health Initiative. Full Story

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