Mental Health Advocacy, Awareness and News |
 
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July, 2020 |
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President's Message: Recharging Through Connection Member News Nurses in Action: Nursing Students on the Frontlines of COVID-19 It is Okay to Not be Okay: How Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses Contribute to Healing and Hope Congratulations to the APNA Annual Awards Recipients Introducing the 2020 Class of APNA Student Scholars Year of the Nurse: John Sturtevant, MSN, RN-BC What You Get When You Register for the APNA 34th Annual Conference Featured Resource: MAT Training Live Event Resource Roundup
New Members: 629 New Members since May!
As the U.S. experiences surges in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, half of nurses on the frontlines providing patient care and responding to the pandemic feel emotionally overwhelmed, according to a mental health and wellness survey of nearly 10,000 U.S. nurses conducted by the American Nurses Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association. Half of nurses who participated in the survey say they continue to feel overwhelmed, and nearly 30% say they are experiencing feelings of depression. Three of four (72.8%) nurses who responded say they are suffering from challenges with sleep (either excessive sleep or sleeplessness). Full Story The Federal Communications Commission's five leaders unanimously voted to finalize 988 as the three-digit number Americans can dial and be directed to the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, reported CNN. Phone service providers will begin the transition process to implement the 988 number nationwide by July 16, 2022. Full Story The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requiring that labeling for opioid pain medicine and medicine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) be updated to recommend that as a routine part of prescribing these medicines, health care professionals should discuss the availability of naloxone with patients and caregivers, both when beginning and renewing treatment. Full Story The novel lysine-specific demethylase 1 inhibitor vafidemstat (ORY-2001, Oryzon Genomics) is effective for treating agitation and aggression across a number of psychiatric disorders, new research suggests. The REIMAGINE trial included 30 patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or borderline personality disorder (BPD). Results showed significant improvements after 8 weeks in general functioning and agitation-aggression scores for all three disorders, reported MedScape. Full Story A new study from the University of Kentucky has described a novel form of dementia characterized by the toxic accumulation of four different proteins in the brain. The research suggests many patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease may be suffering from this different, and more complex, neurodegenerative condition, reported New Atlas. Last year a landmark study described a novel form of dementia based on the abnormal aggregation of a protein called TDP-43. The disease was named limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, or LATE, and the researchers suggested about 20 percent of Alzheimer’s cases may actually be misdiagnosed LATE cases. Full Story In a new study, researchers from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) have developed tools to improve the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, and as a result are now able to identify subgroups of schizophrenia patients, reported PsychCentral.com. The new findings can assist in diagnosis and treatment of patients with mental illnesses that can be difficult to identify and show medical practitioners whether the current treatments have or have not been working based on image groupings. Full Story Mental Health America (MHA) announced it's new Young Mental Health Leaders Council. For the past three years, MHA’s Collegiate Mental Health Innovation Council (CMHIC) has identified student leaders impacting campus mental health. By focusing on student-led programs that fill gaps in traditional mental health services, CMHIC highlighted the concerns of college students and model student-led programs to be expanded to additional campuses. Now, we are opening the program to all young adults ages 18-25-year-olds. Full Story The early recognition and treatment of mental health disorders can improve quality of life outcomes and reduce lifelong disability. However, stigmatizing attitudes have been found among nurse practitioners (NPs) who care for patients with anxiety and/or depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and substance use disorder (SUD), according to a study published in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. NPs who spent clinical hours working in a psychiatric setting demonstrated more favorable attitudes toward individuals with SUDs than respondents without clinical hours in the psychiatric setting, but no statistically significant difference was identified for anxiety/depression or ADHD, reported Clinical Advisor. Full Story
Leaders of the House telehealth caucus introduced legislation July 16 to permanently open up access to telehealth services for Medicare patients, reported Fierce Healthcare. The bipartisan bill, the Protecting Access to Post-Covid-19 Telehealth Act, will extend the use of telehealth that was expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic by eliminating restrictions on the use in Medicare. That would provide a bridge for patients currently using the practices because of the coronavirus crisis and require a study on the use of telehealth during COVID-19, said bill co-sponsor Rep. Mike Thompson, D-CA, in a statement. Full Story Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) introduced the Emergency Support for Nursing Homes and Elder Justice Reform Act of 2020, which will improve existing programs to protect older Americans while also providing help to nursing homes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Full Story Lawmakers recently passed legislation aimed at developing programs for American servicemen and women that reduce the stigma of suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses, reported ABC4.com. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) said the “National Defense Authorization Act” requires the Department of Defense to create those programs. Full Story In an effort to protect New Jersey residents receiving publicly financed mental health, behavioral health and addiction services, Senate President Steve Sweeney introduced legislation that would ensure and improve the delivery of these services, without disruption, in all future state contracts, reported InsiderNJ.com. The bill, S-2708, would require state contracts to contain a commitment that service will not be disrupted or delayed by labor disputes. Full Story The Kansas Legislature passed House Bill 2016, a temporary COVID-19 law that extends the provisions of select emergency executive actions until January 2021. The APRN provisions in effect authorize emergency out-of-state licensure for nurses and select suspension of physician supervision in facilities for APRNs assisting in response to COVID-19 until January 2021. Full Story Colorado House Bill (H.B.) 1216 updates the Colorado Nurse Practice Act as part of the state’s mandated periodic review process. H.B. 1216, as signed by Governor Polis clarifies advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) authority to delegate nursing orders to other health care providers, retires some unnecessary documentation requirements around articulated plans and reduces the amount of time in collaboration agreements for new APRN licensees from 1,000 hours to 750 hours. Full Story Ohio State Senator Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) introduced Senate Bill 341 which would enable Ohio to join the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), an agreement currently between 34 member states that allows Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses to work in multiple states. Full Story Policy The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has announced revisions to Health Privacy Rule 42 CFR Part 2. These changes are intended to expand care coordination and integrate healthcare for individuals with substance use disorders while maintaining crucial privacy and confidentiality protections. Part 2 programs are federally assisted programs that provide diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment for a SUD. Click here to read the Fact Sheet. The care transition period between inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and initiation of outpatient mental health services is a time of extraordinarily heightened suicide risk that has been woefully neglected, according to speakers from the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention at the virtual annual meeting of the American Association of Suicidology. This transition period traditionally has been a time when nobody really takes responsibility for patient care, reported MedScape. In an effort to close this potentially deadly gap in services, the alliance recently has issued a report entitled, "Best Practices in Care Transitions for Individuals with Suicide Risk: Inpatient Care to Outpatient Care." 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. |
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During the Year of the Nurse, each newsletter will highlight a psychiatric-mental health nursing leader! Here is what APNA Michigan Chapter President John Sturtevant, MSN, RN-BC, has to share: "Always look for new challenges and take on roles that you would never think were expected of PMH nurses. The more you are out there and the more you can do, the more relevant you become: not only to your organization but to our field as well."
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