President’s Message: Meet the Moment
When you tell someone you are a psychiatric-mental health nurse, how do they react? We owe it to those in our care and ourselves to be ready to make it plain who we are: providers of a unique blend of mental health services so urgently needed. Keep Reading

Member News
Wendy Clayton appointed Chief Nursing Officer of Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center; Dallas Ducar interviewed for the Johnson & Johnson Notes on Nursing newsletter; Joyce Shea highlighted in Fairfield's HamletHub for receiving the 2022 APNA Psychiatric Nurse of the Year Award; Melanie Yousefi highlighted by her student in an article for George Mason University School of Nursing; 9 APNA members inducted as fellows to the American Academy of Nursing. Learn More

First Look: Presentations on Implicit Bias and Supportive Psychotherapy
The APNA 36th Annual Conference on October 19-22 is the first in-person Annual Conference in 2 years. (The event is also available via virtual livestream.) Psychiatric mental-health nurses will gather in sunny Long Beach, California, to discover and learn from their colleagues. Two APNA Annual Conference presenters preview their upcoming Annual Conference sessions – and their excitement about participating in person! Keep Reading

Motivational Interviewing to Address Vaccine Hesitancy
Motivational interviewing (MI) has endless applications when it comes to providing compassionate and person-centered care. Here, Susan Blaakman describes how APNA partnered with AACN to provide MI education to nursing students conducting community outreach to address vaccine hesitancy. Keep Reading

President Leslie Oleck Spreads the Word: Nursing Expertise in PMH
Listen to this episode of the See You Now podcast to hear from nurse leaders, including APNA President Leslie Oleck, on the value nurses with specialized knowledge bring to the health care system, especially during this time of rebuilding in the nursing workforce. Get It Here

Public Health Emergency Extended to October 15
The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) has been extended through October 15. Many waivers and temporary authorities currently in place will be continued through this date. Here’s a quick overview of a few which psychiatric-mental health nurses might find relevant. Keep Reading

Save $100 on APNA Annual Conference Registration
Register for the APNA 36th Annual Conference today and save $100 with the early bird discount! You can view the brochure here (coming to your mailbox soon!) for a first look at the conference or register now.

Updated position: PMH-APRNs and PMH-RNs Hold Essential Roles in Primary Mental Health Care
Continuing to improve understanding of the psychiatric-mental health nursing role beyond the profession, the APNA Board of Directors has revised the APNA position “Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses’ Role in Primary Care” with updated supporting information from the 2022 scope and standards. Read the position here.

APNA Wants You! JAPNA Associate Editor Search
APNA is accepting applications for Associate Editor until August 8. Are you the right candidate? Send applications to APNA Executive Director Lisa Nguyen at inform@apna.org. Learn more

New research by Georgia State University’s TReNDS Center may lead to early diagnosis of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and autism—in time to help prevent and more easily treat these disorders. In a new study published in Nature Scientific Reports a team of seven scientists from Georgia State built a sophisticated computer program that was able to comb through massive amounts of brain imaging data and discover novel patterns linked to mental health conditions. The brain imaging data came from scans using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures dynamic brain activity by detecting tiny changes in blood flow. Full Story

The Committee on Creating a Framework for Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation in Health and Medicine is seeking input on gaps and challenges in the current ecosystem for the governance of emerging technologies in health and medicine and on strategies and approaches to better align technology development and governance with ethical principles. The deadline for responses is August 10, 2022. Click here to provide input. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing the first diagnostic laboratory test to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The Lumipulse G β-Amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) test, manufactured by Fujirebio Inc., is intended for use in adults aged 55 years and older who present with cognitive impairment. The test measures two variants of the amyloid beta protein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A positive result suggests that a patient likely has amyloid plaques in the brain—a hallmark feature of Alzheimer’s disease. Full Story

There was a historic 30% increase in overdose deaths in the U.S. from 2019 to 2020. In one year, overdose death rates increased 44% for Black people and 39% for American Indian and Alaska Native people, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report. Full Story

On July 16 the national suicide prevention line number changed from 1-800-273-TALK(8255) to a three-digit number 988. There will be several changes regarding how the crisis line works, how it is funded, and the resources available. A recent Nurse.org article reviews the changes. Full Story

Bexson Biomedical is expanding its on-body ketamine delivery program to mental health conditions including treatment-resistant depression, reported FiercePharma.com. Bexson originally began working with drug delivery partner Stevanato on pain programs but is now branching out. The pain and mental health programs are all underpinned by a customized version of Stevanato’s EZ-be Pod, an on-body wearable device that enables subcutaneous self-injections. Bexson teamed up with Stevanato to use the device to deliver a ketamine formulation to treat chronic and acute pain in 2020 and has now extended the pact to cover mental health indications. Full Story

The House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations subcommittee has proposed a $200 million increase in Alzheimer’s and dementia research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $30 million to implement the bipartisan Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act (P.L.115-406) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for fiscal year 2023. Full Story

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7666, also known as the Restoring Hope For Mental Health Well-Being Act of 2022. The bill, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 402-20, contains funding for peer support services including virtual peer support group meetings. Under the legislation, new funding is provided for the development, expansion, and enhancement of national, statewide, or community-focused mental health programs, including virtual peer-support services and infrastructure. Full Story

New Jersey lawmakers plan to distribute a total of $480.5 million as grants-in-aid money to the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services within the Department of Human Services. Grants-in-aid refers to money given out by the state to fund a program or project that does not need to be paid back because it’s not a loan, reported NJ Spotlight News. Full Story

The Rhode Island House and Senate have passed legislation establishing a task force aimed at improving the mental health of some of the state's youngest children. The task force will be charged with drafting a state plan to improve the promotion of social and emotional well-being of young children as well as screening, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental health challenges in currently covered Medicaid mental health services for infants and young children under the age of six, reported The Providence Journal. 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.