The Red Cross is currently recruiting and deploying new Disaster Mental Health and Disaster Health Services volunteers for the Hurricane Harvey response. If you are interested in volunteering, please click here. This recruitment and deployment is being implemented via a newly streamlined process, the Health Professionals Direct Deployment process.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the fourth edition of its Behavioral Health Barometer state reports that provide a powerful overview of behavioral health in each state and the District of Columbia (DC). Each report includes data about key behavioral health issues such as the prevalence of substance use, serious thoughts of suicide, serious mental illness, and related treatment, as well as their comparisons with the corresponding national annual averages. Full Story

The number of Americans who say they've taken an antidepressant over the past month rose by 65% between 1999 and 2014, a new government survey finds. By 2014, about one in every eight Americans over the age of 12 reported recent antidepressant use, according to a report released from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be taking the medications, the report found, with antidepressants used by 16.5% of females compared to just under 9% of males, reported HealthDay.com. Full Story

A new study shows that a noninvasive eye scan could detect the key signs of Alzheimer’s disease years before patients experience symptoms, reported PsychCentral.com. According to neuroscience investigators at Cedars-Sinai, Alzheimer’s disease affects the retina similarly to the way it affects the brain. Using a high-definition eye scan developed especially for the study, researchers detected the warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease: Amyloid-beta deposits, a buildup of toxic proteins. Full Story

Four counties in Arkansas will soon be home to the state's first mental health crisis centers. These alternatives to jail will serve low-level offenders with mental illnesses or other behavioral health conditions, reported ArkansasMatters.com. Full Story

A machine learning approach that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to examine millions of brain cortical links can identify schizophrenia cases with a high degree of accuracy and predict symptom severity, new research shows. In a brain imaging analysis, investigators led by Irina Rish, PhD, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, found that, through use of alterations in connections between areas such as the thalamus and the primary cortex, schizophrenia patients could be distinguished from control persons with almost 75% accuracy, reported MedScape. Full Story

NAMI has partnered with Google to ensure that their new "Check if You’re Clinically Depressed" feature is accurate and useful. Now when people search for "clinical depression" on Google (mobile), a Knowledge Panel will appear providing the option to tap “Check if You’re Clinically Depressed”, which will link to PHQ-9, a clinically validated screening questionnaire. Full Story

A University of Wyoming professor received a nearly $1 million federal grant to promote integrated health care in the Cowboy State, which officials have said has a shortage of nurses, reported The Casper Star Tribune. Sarah Kooienga, an assistant nursing professor at UW’s School of Nursing, received the $998,332 grant to develop an “integrated behavioral health primary care initiative,” Kooienga will work with other mental health and family nursing officials in Cheyenne to provide real-life clinical experience for UW nursing students and other aspiring health care professionals. Full Story

President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency and said his administration was drafting papers to make it official. The declaration could help unlock more support and resources to address the drug overdose epidemic, such as additional funding and expanded access to various forms of treatment, and it gives the government more flexibility in waiving rules and restrictions to expedite action. Full Story

U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced that the Department of Defense will cover new care plans to support Alzheimer’s patients covered through TRICARE and their families. Full Story

The FDA announced an upcoming meeting of the Pediatric Advisory Committee that will focus on the use of prescription opioid products containing hydrocodone or codeine for the treatment of cough in pediatric patients, including current treatment practices and benefit-risk considerations. The panel of independent experts will provide valuable input to help inform the agency’s decision-making processes related to these medications. The meeting will be held on September 11, 2017, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and September 12, 2017, from 8:30 am to 1 pm. Full Story

Recently passed legislation states that HHS will establish guidelines for when healthcare providers should prominently display a patient’s history of opioid use on his or her medical record, reported HealthITSecurity.com. The bill also underlines the importance of maintaining patient privacy throughout the patient care process. The Senate recently passed Jessie’s Law (S. 581) and now moves on to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Complete medical records will ensure that individuals will not mistakenly fall into relapse by being prescribed an opioid medication. Full Story

In Texas, local and state leaders are backing a plan that would convert the vacant former Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center into a state-owned mental health facility, a proposal that could ease a statewide mental health crisis and add 1,000 new jobs to the area. Trying to reverse a troubling trend that has left shortages in mental health beds across the state, Texas lawmakers appropriated $300 million during the past session to upgrade inpatient mental health services. Full Story

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D., announced the creation of a new Task Force to develop best practices for prescribing pain medication and for managing chronic and acute pain. HHS, which is overseeing this effort with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense, is seeking member nominations from the public. Information about how to nominate individuals to serve on this Task Force is available in the Federal Register. Applications are due Wednesday, September 27, 2017. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has named the public members who will serve on a new panel charged with coordinating the response to serious mental illness in the U.S. The Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) was established by the 21st Century Cures Act. Senior leaders from ten federal agencies. Full Story

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American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.