APNA Members' Corner

Welcome to APNA Members' Corner, a bi-monthly feature of APNA News. Click on the links below to access the features and articles listed for September 2009.

Message from the President

APNFoundation Campaign - Support PMH research

APNA LACE Webinar Archive - Earn 1 complimentary contact hour

Health Care Reform - An outline of APNA's involvement regarding this issue

Resources for Staff Nurses - A listing of APNA resources for staff nurses

New Members - A listing of the 412 new members since July 09

Legislative

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus unveiled a health care reform plan which would require all Americans to have health insurance, but lacks a government-run public health insurance option favored by most Democrats and President Obama, reported CNN.com. Full Story

The National Council has created a resource on amendments related to mental health and addiction services within HR 3200, the House version of the Affordable Health Choices Act. Click here to view the resource.

Issues & Events

The misuse of prescription drugs decreased significantly between 2007 and 2008 among those aged 12 and older, including among adolescents, according to 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). However, the national survey showed that the overall level of current illicit drug use has remained level at about 8%. The study also showed that past month methamphetamine use among those aged 12 and older dropped sharply from approximately 529,000 people in 2007 to 314,000 in 2008. Similarly, the level of current cocaine use among the population aged 12 and older has decreased from 1.0% in 2006 to 0.7% in 2008. Full Story Click here to read the study.

The World Health Organization predicts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem. According to the WHO, depression will be the biggest health burden on society both economically and sociologically, reported the BBC. Full Story

West Virginia is working on a $30 million three-year plan to start improving behavioral health services and supports by adding more care coordinators, residential slots and group homes, among other needs, reported Behavioral Health Central. Full Story

New York State discriminated against thousands of mentally ill people in New York City by leaving them in privately run adult homes, which effectively replaced state-run psychiatric hospitals more than a generation ago but turned out to be little more than institutions themselves, a federal judge ruled. The judge, Nicholas G. Garaufis of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, ruled that the state was violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by housing more than 4,300 mentally ill people in New York City in more than two dozen adult homes. He said the residents had little hope of mingling with anyone in the wider community, reported the New York Times on the Web. Full Story

In the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) reported to date involving Alzheimer's disease, scientists have identified two new possible genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's, the most common form of the disease. The study, which pooled DNA samples from a number of European and U.S. groups, not only associated variations in the sequence of the CLU and PICALM genes with increased risk, but also found another 13 gene variants that merit further investigation, according to findings presented in Nature Genetics. Full Story

Policy

The National Council has launched an online Resource Center for Primary Care and Behavioral Health Collaboration at www.TheNationalCouncil.org/ResourceCenter. Building on more than six years of work in the area of primary care and behavioral health collaboration, the Resource Center is a valuable source for information and practical resources for providers, policymakers, and community stakeholders, working to provide seamless mental and primary healthcare across delivery systems. The Resource Center facilitates the expansion of collaborative healthcare efforts by disseminating lessons learned by early adopters, reducing barriers, and facilitating the mutual sharing of information.