APNA Highlights

APNA Announces Member Bridge!
APNA is excited to announce the launch of a special member communication tool called Member Bridge. It is part of the APNA website and gives each of you the ability to communicate with all the members of APNA.

Member Bridge allows you to :

• Participate in discussions that will shape psychiatric-mental health nursing
• Communicate directly with your fellow members
• Initiate your own community of interest and create a network with others who have similar interests as yours
• Upload virtually any type of file to share with others (for which you have copyright permission or ownership) and download information posted by others
• Start your own blog

Click here for our Getting Started Guide.

Exciting New APNA Online Educational Programs
CPI Online
Twelve sessions were captured at the 7th Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute in June 2009 and are now available for you to view online, and earn contact hours! Click here for more information on these sessions.

APNA Webinars
Two archived sessions add to our resources for general practice psychiatric nurses. View them online and earn contact hours! They are:
      • Maintaining Safety in Inpatient Units - More Info
      • Delirium, Dementia, and Depression - More Info

Check www.apna.org/APNAwebinars for the latest information on APNA online CE offerings. We look forward to providing more of these opportunities in the future!

26th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation
In keeping with providing reduced rates for our members, APNA has negotiated a reciprocal member rate for the 26th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). This conference is to be held in Washington D.C. from Sat. Nov. 21 through Mon. Nov. 23, 2009 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Click here to download a special registration form for APNA members. Click here for more information about the conference.

Legislative

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act takes effect Jan.1 for most insurance plans, but the federal government has yet to issue the regulations to implement the law. Seventy-three members of Congress recently sent a letter to three top cabinet secretaries with concerns about the delay, reported the Memphis Daily News. Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary, responded that the Administration is planning to issue regulations by January 2010. Full Story

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report comparing the major behavioral health provisions in the House and Senate health care reform bills. The primary areas of analysis include provisions related to mental health parity, federally qualified behavioral health centers, grant programs to train and educate behavioral health providers, and co-location of primary care with behavioral health services. Click here to read the report (PDF file).

The Kaiser Family Foundation has launched on online tool to perform a side-by-side comparison of the major health care reform proposals. Full Story

A new Commonwealth Fund report analyzes the similarities, differences, potential impacts, and costs of current bills passed by the five committees of jurisdiction in the United States Congress: Finance Committee and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committees in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and Energy and Commerce committees. Full Story

Issues & Events

A new nationwide survey , sponsored by the Open Society Institute, shows that Americans across party lines agree on improving access to addiction treatment. Despite difficult economic times, most are willing to pay out of their own pocket to make alcohol and drug addiction treatment more accessible and affordable for those who need services. Full Story

The lack of understanding about the physical toll of dementia means that many patients near the end of life are subjected to aggressive treatments that would never be considered with another terminal illness. A new study suggests that family members would be far less likely to subject their loved ones to such treatment if they had a better understanding of dementia as progressive, debilitating illness that ultimately shuts down the body after years of mental deterioration, reported the New York Times on the Web. Full Story

A new national survey shows the economic downturn is taking a toll on the mental health of Americans. Individuals who are unemployed are four times as likely as those with jobs to report symptoms consistent with severe mental illness. Americans who experienced involuntary changes in their employment status, such as pay cuts or reduced hours, also are twice as likely to have these symptoms, even though they are employed full time, according to the survey conducted for Mental Health America and the National Alliance on Mental Illness in collaboration with the Depression is Real Coalition. Full Story

MINDS ON THE EDGE: Facing Mental Illness is a multi-platform media project that explores severe mental illness in America. The centerpiece of the project is a television program airing on PBS stations. This video component is part of a national initiative that includes extensive web content with tools for civic engagement, active social media on Facebook and Twitter, and an ambitious strategy to engage citizens, professionals in many fields, and policy makers at all levels of government. The goal is to advance consensus about how to improve the kinds of support and treatment available for people with mental illness. Click here to learn more.

Behavioral Health Central recently interviewed Army Times reporter Kelly Kennedy about her experiences and work, the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on military members and their families, the role stigma often plays in keeping servicemembers from seeking help, and how the Carter Center Fellowship has facilitated her reporting. Full Story

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for up to $144 million in grants for Cooperative Agreements for Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families. The purpose of the cooperative agreements is to develop and expand systems of care for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances and their families. Full Story

Policy

A recent Behavioral Health Central article reviews National Quality Forum Standards for Addiction Treatment, which embrace the concept that substance abuse disorders are chronic conditions that can be successfully treated with a continuum of comprehensive services linked between and among various agencies, including mental and medical healthcare agencies and treatment providers. Full Story