APNA Highlights

Annual Conference Early Bird Discount Ends Aug. 31
Highlights of this year's conference include:
      • Earn up to 28 total contact hours
      • Take advantage of the ANCC Review Course + Conference package rate and earn up to an additional 14 contact hours
      • The Annual Awards Dinner, the premier networking event of the conference, is included in your full conference registration
      • Listen to 2 excellent keynote speakers, one of which is international
      • Enjoy complimentary breakfasts at each of the APNA conference hotels, or join us for free product theaters: breakfasts on Thursday and Friday morning, plus a Thursday dinner

For more information click here.

Now Available - Choice & Challenge: Caring for Aggressive Older Adults Across Levels of Care
Aggressive behavior can be the most troubling - and possibly the least understood of all behavioral problems confronted by those who work with older adults. This unique documentary presents a remarkable series of real-life situations in which healthcare providers must cope with behaviorally impaired or aggressive elders. Designed for nurses, nursing assistants and other caregivers, this training program powerfully conveys the challenges faced by hospital and nursing home staff, while providing practical solutions to a variety of everyday problems. A 23-Minute training video with supportive printed materials, developed by APNA. Click here for an order form for the DVD/book.

Legislative

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently released "Stable and Secure Health Care for America," a series of new state-by-state reports outlining how national health insurance reform would impact your state's health care system. The state-specific analysis evaluates the impact of reform based on issues such as cost, consumer choice, quality and affordability. Click here to view the reports.

Is substance abuse treated adequately in reform bills? Proposals to encourage use of "medical homes," fund training for health care professionals, and expand child health programs are criticized for not citing specific support for substance abuse programs, reported Psychiatric News. Full Story

The mentally ill in North Carolina will have less access to care as the state makes dramatic changes to save money in the recession. The budget approved by the legislature cuts about $40 million, or 12%, in mental health treatment for people without other insurance, reported Behavioral Health Central. Full Story

The Obama administration has launched a new website to battle what it calls "wild rumors" about the health care reform plans being pushed through Congress -- including an invitation for the public to tattle on any other "myths" they come across, reported FoxNews.com. The new "Reality Check" site features a half-dozen alleged rumors about health care reform, responding to them with videos of top aides rebutting them. Click here to visit the site.

Issues & Events

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Saphris tablets (asenapine) to treat adults with schizophrenia and to treat bipolar I disorder in adults. Full Story

A proactive group of medical groups, health plans, employers and patients have come to the table in Minnesota, through the guidance of the Institute for Clinical Systems improvement (ICSI), for a collaboration to make a difference in treating patients with depression, reported Behavioral Health Central. Their aim is to change the way care is delivered, monitored and reimbursed through a unique model of care called The DIAMOND initiative: Depression Improvement Across Minnesota Offering a New Direction. Full Story

Ashoka's Changemakers and the Vulnerable Populations Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched a global competition to explore innovations that allow individuals, families, communities, and society to move past narrow perceptions of mental health and expand our understanding and collective involvement in finding solutions. Innovators and enthusiasts from around the world are invited to join the Changemakers community to nominate groundbreaking solutions, submit great ideas, vote for the top finalists and interact with a network of committed supporters. Three winners will each receive $5,000, media exposure and will be prominently featured on Changemakers.com. Full Story

Selected presentations from the NASMHPD Summer 2009 Commissioners Meeting are available by clicking here.

Selected presentations from the Sixth National Summit of State Psychiatric Hospital Superintendents are available by clicking here.

In an effort to address the growing problem of substance abuse and related problems among military personnel, two major federal agencies have joined forces to launch a major research initiative. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, in partnership with two other NIH Institutes ― the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) ― is collaborating with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to launch a first-of-its-kind joint funding project to support research on substance abuse and its associated problems among U.S. military personnel, veterans and their families, reported Behavioral Health Central. Full Story

Policy

Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent a letter to Chief State School Officers encouraging each state to review their current policies and guidelines regarding the use of restraints and seclusion techniques in schools and if appropriate develop or revise them to ensure the safety of students. Full Story

To improve the quality and safety of medication use in the U.S., the National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed 18 measures for managing over the counter and prescription medications. The 18 endorsed measures assess prescribing and use of appropriate medications and medication adherence, reconciliation, and monitoring. The measures are among the first to be endorsed for medication management and help to highlight gaps in measurement and quality improvement for medication use and adherence. Full Story