Showing posts with label Pennsylvania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pennsylvania. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Veteran with PTSD shot during standoff with police

Man Shot By Police During Standoff In Doylestown Dies In Hospital: Officials

By CBS3 Staff
March 1, 2020
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) — A man who police shot during a standoff and shootout in Doylestown has died more than one week later.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office says 60-year-old Thomas Zeller had been hospitalized since the standoff in the Olde Colonial Greene residential community on Feb. 20.

A neighbor told CBS at the time that Zeller was a veteran who suffered from PTSD.

It’s unclear who fired first. The shooting remains under investigation.
get updates here

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Marine Corps League Delaware County chapter officers face charges for stealing funds

Delaware County DA: Officers From Marine Corps League Arrested, Charged For Stealing Over $53,000 From Group


By CBS3 Staff
February 7, 2020

DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) — Two people are accused of stealing money from the Marine Corps League of Delaware County. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer says Alan Staniskis stole more than $53,000 from the group.

He was the commandant of the Upland Chapter of the organization.
The group’s paymaster, Kera Kiss, is also accused of altering the books to hide the improper withdrawals.
read it here

Saturday, January 11, 2020

39 Army Rangers are women!

Pennsylvania female soldier breaks barriers


21 News
by Brian Sheehan
January 9th 2020
While Farber is the first National Guard member in Pennsylvania to enlist and graduate, 38 other women from across the county are also U.S. Army Rangers.
As the United States military continues moving towards gender equality in the workforce, more women are serving in combat positions.
Sgt. Danielle Farber is the first female National Guard soldier in Pennsylvania who enlisted and graduated U.S. Army Ranger School.

In 2013, the Pentagon lifted the ban on women serving in combat positions.

Farber graduated in December.

She’s originally from Chester County, but is stationed at Fort Indiantown Gap where she currently works as a medic.
read it here

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Ret. Lt. Col. John Andersen decided to #BreakTheSilence so others would seek help to heal

'Eating at me from the inside out': After suffering silently for 15 years, Alaska vet encourages others to seek help for mental health challenges


KTUU News
By Beth Verge
Dec 31, 2019
Ret. Lt. Col. John Andersen, a 21-year veteran of the military who served in various capacities, including as an Air Force pilot based at Eielson Air Force Base and with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, is one of them.
ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - If you are a veteran in crisis, or are concerned about one, you can connect with the veterans crisis line by dialing (800) 273-8255. You can also text the number 838255 or chat online by clicking here.

The great state of Alaska boasts the highest percentage of veterans in the entire United States. About one of every three people in the Last Frontier is either military or a dependent, according to the Alaska Department of Veterans Affairs.

"We have a high amount of veterans in our state," said Sen. Dan Sullivan, (R) Alaska, "which is great, but we also have one of the highest rates of suicide. We need to recognize these are wounds of war, just like being shot is.

"It's a broader issue," the U.S. Marine Corps Reservist added. "It's not necessarily resources, but it's the stigma."

As such, with that grand force of servicemen and women spread across the state comes an often hidden ailment faced by tens of thousands of people each and every day: post-combat mental health challenges.
read it here

Monday, August 12, 2019

More first responders saving others....but not themselves

For second day in row, NYPD mourning officer who died by suicide


NBC New York, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the officer who died Wednesday was 56 years and found in his Queens home after police were called around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.

On Tuesday, another police officer died by suicide in Yonkers.

Since the beginning of June, seven NYPD officers have died by suicide, and nine since the beginning of the year.
read it here

FDNY captain found dead of apparent suicide in his Staten Island home: sources


NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
By ROCCO PARASCANDOLA and JOHN ANNESE
AUG 06, 2019

An FDNY captain was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Staten Island home Tuesday morning, police sources said. The 53-year-old captain was found hanging in a closet of his Tottenville home at about 11:15 a.m., sources said. 

His name has not yet been publicly released. An autopsy is pending, a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner’s office said.

FDNY spokesman Myles Miller provided no details about the captain’s death Tuesday, though he said the department shared suicide prevention tips to its members after the suicides of seven NYPD officers this year — four of them over a three-week stretch.
read it here


NYPD suicides push officials to work to overcome stigma of asking for help


BY CNN WIRE
AUGUST 11, 2019
The study found that first responders failed to seek help because of the stigma of seeking mental health treatment in a profession that prioritizes bravery and toughness. It also found of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the country, “approximately 3-5% have suicide prevention training programs.”
The first sign something was wrong: The police sergeant didn’t show up for morning roll call.

New York Police Department officials went to his home, where they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It was July 27, and the 30-year-old with eight years on the force was the NYPD’s seventh suicide this year, according to officials.

It’s news that rattled Police Commissioner James O’Neill, who says his biggest fear is another one of his officers is about to take his or her own life.

“Am I scared? I’ve got to be honest with you. Yeah, I am,” O’Neill told CNN during a recent interview at his office at One Police Plaza in Manhattan. “Maybe there’s somebody out there right now that’s in crisis or approaching crisis and just unable or unwilling to come forward.”

Over a two-month period, O’Neill has had often-painful conversations about a member of the department who killed himself. The number of NYPD suicides so far this year stands at seven — with five of those occurring since June.
read it here


FOX43 Focal Point: Heroes in Harm’s Way — First responders and mental health


BY GRACE GRIFFATON
AUGUST 11, 2019
"What they are seeing on a regular basis is not normal. We're responding to situations that would absolutely terrify another member of the public or completely devastate them if they've seen some of the carnage we've seen." Chief Jarrad Berkihiser

LANCASTER, Pa. -- For the third straight year, police officer suicides exceeded line of duty deaths in the United States. Local first responders are now sharing their battles with mental health issues. FOX43's Grace Griffaton takes a closer look at the toll the uniform can take. Lancaster Bureau Of Police lost a patrol officer last year after he took his own life. The loss hit the department hard, and it really changed how it looks at mental health. The flashing lights, the sirens, the tape, it's what civilians see. What first responders see, smell, and hear may never go away.

"Just watching what they do at an autopsy to four children - one being the same age as my daughter. It was kind of a gut bunch," said Chief Jarrad Berkihiser, Lancaster Bureau of Police. Flash back to August 22, 2003: Officers, including Berkihiser, respond to an arson on East Chestnut Street in Lancaster. Four children perished that day. "It was a homicide so I ended up spending 3 full days in the crime scene," explained Berkihiser. It wasn't Berkihiser's first time seeing trauma either; he spent his first 10 years processing violent crime scenes. "I was in a dark place in 2003, and it wasn't just one incident. What I found out? It was a culmination of multiple incidents over several years," he added.
read it here


#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

Firefighter lost three children in day care fire near station

update

Funerals held for 4 children killed in day care fire

A funeral service was held Saturday in Erie for 8-year-old La'Myhia Jones, 6-year-old Luther Jones Jr., 4-year-old Ava Jones and 9-month-old Jaydan Augustyniak. All are siblings. The funeral for 2-year-old Dalvin Pacley will be held Monday.

Three of the victims were the children of a volunteer firefighter, Luther Jones. Their mother, Shevona Overton, is also the mother of Jaydan. An adult and two adolescent boys were able to escape. Fire officials suspect last Sunday's blaze was accidental and possibly electrical.
read it here

Firefighter loses three kids in Pennsylvania day care blaze that kills five


NBC News
By Tim Stelloh
Aug. 11, 2019

A firefighter lost three children in an early morning blaze that tore through a home day care in Pennsylvania, killing five and leaving a woman injured, authorities said.

Joe Crotty, chief of the Lawrence Park Volunteer Fire Department, said firefighter Luther Jones was responding to another fire when the blaze ignited at Harris Family Day Care in Erie, NBC News affiliate WICU reported.

Jones had no idea his children were at the overnight day care center a few blocks away, the station said.

It's "unthinkable," Crotty said. "It's really beyond comprehension."

Earlier, city officials said in a Facebook post said that firefighters responding to a structure fire shortly after 1 a.m. rescued seven people who were trapped inside a home.
read it here

Monday, July 29, 2019

Number of veterans committing suicide depends on who counted

When it comes to the number of veterans committing suicide, this shows it depends on who counted. Hint: It is a lot higher than any number you think you know unless you read Wounded Times and will not be shocked by the following article.


Paul Muschick: Military suicides hitting Pennsylvania where you may not expect it


THE MORNING CALL
By PAUL MUSCHICK
JUL 26, 2019


Not all National Guard members meet the legal definition of a “veteran.” When it comes to suicide, though, that distinction doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that people who served their country are ending their lives, and that has to stop.
Earl (left) and Joe Granville served together in Bosnia and Iraq with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Joe Granville took his own life in 2010. (CONTRIBUTED/EARL GRANVILLE)


The men and women who enlist in the Pennsylvania National Guard are the best of the best. They’re in shape. They’re smart. They’re motivated.

They’re also committing suicide too often.

In the past four years, 26 Guard members have taken their own lives. Assumptions about why that is happening — that they went to war overseas and came back suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or were unable to adjust to civilian life — aren’t always accurate.

Slightly more than half of them never deployed.
read it here

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Veteran of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq running for President

Joe’s In: Former Congressman, 3-Star Admiral Sestak announces campaign for President.


JUNE 22, 2019

Thank you for taking the time to see why I am declaring my candidacy for President of the United States of America.
What Americans most want today is someone who is accountable to them, above self, above party, above any special interest … a President who has the depth of global experience to restore America’s leadership in the world to protect our American Dream at home … and one who is trusted to restructure policies where too many see only the growth of inequity not of the economy.

I want to be that President who serves the American people the way they deserve to be served.

And while my announcement may be later than others for the honor of seeking the Presidency, the decision to delay was so I would be there with Alex, our daughter, as the brain cancer she had courageously beaten at four years old returned this past year. But with her same team of medical heroes, she has again overcome the single digit odds.

I had worn the cloth of our nation for over 31 years in peace and war, but after Alex’s first high-grade brain tumor, I needed to answer to you, the American people, who provided the military healthcare coverage that saved our daughter’s life. I served our nation as a U.S. Congressman for two terms from a Republican District in order to work for all Americans to have the healthcare coverage we fortunately had had for Alex.

Now, the hour has become late to restore U.S. global leadership that convenes the world for two primary objectives that serve our collective well-being here at home: putting a brake on climate change and putting an end to an illiberal world order’s injustices, from China’s control of the 5G network to Russian interference in democratic elections.

However, we cannot meet the defining challenges of our time without a united America. This is our Hobson’s Choice: not just to win this Presidential election, but to heal our nation’s soul by regaining the trust of Americans – all Americans – by a President who the people know will remain accountable to them alone, no matter the cost to him.

I ask that you would take a moment and watch the video(s) below. The first is my announcement summarizing why our next President must have a unique understanding of all the elements of our nation’s power: our economy and diplomacy, our military – including its limitations – and the power of our ideals. The other videos describe the foreign and domestic challenges we face, and the policies I will pursue as President, particularly accountability to America.
go here for more

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Who killed Army veteran Everett Palmer Jr.

Family claims US Army vet was murdered in police custody


New York Post
By Tamar Lapin
June 12, 2019

They claim that when his body was returned to them, his throat, heart and brain were missing.

The family of a US Army veteran who died last year in Pennsylvania police custody are claiming he was murdered, according to published reports.

The last time relatives of Queens-born Everett Palmer Jr., 41, heard from him was in April 2018, when he said he was going to Pennsylvania to resolve an outstanding DUI warrant from two years earlier, the family said.

Palmer, a dad of two who lived in Delaware, was booked into a single cell at the York County Prison on April 7, 2018.

Two days later, he was dead.

“The most frustrating part is my son being murdered and not having any answers to how he was murdered,” Rose Palmer, Everett’s mother, said during a Tuesday press conference, according to CBS News.

“Since April 9, I have not had a good night sleep since I think about my child and the possible scenarios. It is torture. He didn’t deserve this,” she said. “He went there to check on his license and he never made it out.”
read more here

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Female Air Force Captain, assaulted twice...including Lackland Air Force

Faculty questioned whether Air Force Captain was really a victim of sexual assault: Witness

Comments made same month captain was terminated from internship for second time 

KSAT ABC News 12 
By Dillon Collier - Investigative Reporter 
December 21, 2018 

SAN ANTONIO - Faculty members of a clinical psychology internship at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland openly discussed the validity of claims from an intern that she was a victim of sexual and domestic assault, according to records reviewed by the KSAT 12 Defenders.
Former Air Force Capt. Robin Becker said she was removed from the internship after disclosing in 2015 that she was sexually assaulted and repeatedly physically assaulted by her former fiancé. 

In a letter submitted in January in support of Becker's attempts to get the Air Force to confer her psychology degree, Dr. Jeff Haibach recounted a lunch he attended along the Riverwalk in June 2016 with faculty from Becker's program.
Haibach, who at that time was engaged to a psychologist who had a supervisory role in Becker's internship, said faculty members were laughing and joking about Becker's tenuous standing in the rigorous year-long program at Lackland Air Force Base's Wilford Hall.

"As though Robin was making some sort of drama, as though she was entirely making information up or at least greatly exaggerating it," Haibach told the Defenders during an interview.

Becker's former fiancé, Adam Chylinski, was criminally charged in three attacks against Becker in 2014-2015. Two of the attacks happened in San Antonio while Becker was taking part in the internship; the other attack happened in their native Pennsylvania months before Becker moved to San Antonio.

read more here

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

After 8 Years in National Guard Iraq Veteran Dies

Heartbroken family searching for answers after veteran’s suspected overdose death


The Citizen's Voice
BY BOB KALINOWSKI
PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 6, 2018
The Citizens’ Voice interviewed Houck the day his unit, Bravo Battery of the 109th Field Artillery, left for Iraq in September 2008 for a yearlong deployment. His twin sons, then 9-months-old, were in a stroller by his side for the departure.

A local family is mourning the death of an Iraq war veteran from a suspected drug overdose.

Stephen Houck, who served eight years in a local Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit, was found dead inside his Wilkes-Barre apartment on Thursday. He was 32.

Funeral services with military honors will be held today at the Kielty-Moran Funeral Home in Plymouth following a viewing 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“I was so proud of him. I told him how proud of him I was,” Houck’s mother Gloria Blizzard said Monday about her son’s military service.

Houck, a Larksville native, is suspected of taking a lethal dose of the synthetic opioid fentanyl and heroin, she said.

Blizzard, 70, of Noxen Twp., reached out to The Citizens’ Voice to notify the paper about the military funeral and a police investigation into her son’s death.
read more here

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Vietnam veteran with terminal cancer had yard sale to pay his for funeral?

UPDATE November 22, 2018

Navy veteran who held yard sales to pay for own funeral dies

His story gained national attention after his yard sale was visited by a pair of men who went on to start a GoFundMe campaign for the veteran. Nearly 2,000 people donated to the campaign for a total of $65,000, far above the amount needed for Davis’ funeral.

Navy veteran, 66, with terminal cancer holds yard sales to raise money for funeral
Fox News
By Stephen Sorace
September 27, 3018
"It broke your heart, hearing the story, and we just decided we had to do something to try and help him, try to make his life a little bit easier," Sheets told Johnstown, Pa.-based WJAC-TV. Davis served in the Navy from 1970-76 during the Vietnam War, the station reported.


A 66-year-old U.S. Navy veteran dying from cancer has been selling his possessions at weekend yard sales to raise money for his own funeral, reports said Wednesday.

Willie Davis, of Cambria County, Pa., was diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma. He plans to raise enough cash to be buried next to his parents in Culpepper, Va., according to his GoFundMe page.

The page was created by two men, David Dunkleberger and his friend, Ed Sheets, after visiting Davis’ yard sale in Brownstown, Pa., in August. When they asked whose funeral Davis was financing, he replied: "Mine."
read more here

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Man tried to sell 300 stolen veteran grave markers

Attempted sale of stolen Pa. veteran grave markers ends in arrest: police
PennLive
By Steve Marroni
August 21, 2018

Roughly 300 grave markers for veterans went missing from some Pennsylvania cemeteries.
Ronald Cichenelli Jr., of Johnstown, is facing charges after police say he tried to sell 300 stolen veteran grave markers at a scrap-metal yard in Waterloo, New York. (Screenshot/WJAC)
But when police say a Johnstown man tried to sell the 1,000 pounds of brass at a scrap-metal yard, employees called the police.

State police started the investigation when they were alerted about a man trying to get cash for the grave markers in Waterloo, New York, the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat is reporting.

Employees at the recycling center noticed some of the grave marker were stamped with "Cambria County Ebensburg, PA," prompting them to alert the authorities, according to reports.
read more here

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Death of Navy Corpsman Under Investigation

Navy Corpsman Found Dead in Barracks ID'd as Emmett Blake Rowan
NBC 7 News San Diego
By Alexander Nguyen
July 6, 2018

The sailor that was found dead in his barracks Monday was identified Friday as Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Emmett Blake Rowan, Navy officials said.

Rowan was found around 9 a.m. at Naval Medical Center San Diego, where he was stationed.

Rowan, a native of Brookville, Pennsylvania, enlisted in the Navy on June 25, 2013, and reported to basic training at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois from June 25, 2013, to Aug. 24, 2013.
read more here

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Iraq veteran and K9 reunite

Bomb-sniffing dog, handler reunited after service in Iraq
BY TRIBUNE MEDIA WIRE
JUNE 7, 2018

MONROE TOWNSHIP, Pa. - A dog that served our country in Iraq for most of his life now gets to retire with his owner.
Troy Sutton of Lumberton, North Carolina, has been in Iraq off and on since 2011 with his Dutch shepherd Ali. The two were nearly inseparable for about five years while they worked together in Iraq as an explosive detection team.

But when Ali was forced to retire in December due to old age, Sutton was worried they would never see each other again. That's until a dog rescue in Herndon stepped in.

"He was my life over there because he took care of me," Sutton told WNEP.

Sutton lives near Wilmington, North Carolina, and served in the United States Army for 24 years. He works for American K-9 Detection Services and works with dogs to sniff out bombs in Iraq.
read more here

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Veteran dead after standoff at Panera Bread

Gunman Dead As 5-Hour Standoff At Princeton Panera Bread Ends
The standoff lasted five hours on Tuesday afternoon. Schools were under shelter-in-place, and nearby buildings were evacuated.
Patch.com
By Anthony Bellano, Patch Staff
Mar 20, 2018
According to Planet Princeton, police reportedly found the gunman's car — a Ford Focus with Pennsylvania tags. Details about the car's location weren't immediately available. Sources told the website that the man was a veteran.

PRINCETON, NJ — A gunman is dead after a nearly 5-hour standoff at a Princeton Panera Bread Tuesday, ending an ordeal that led to evacuations at Princeton University and neighboring buildings as well as a shelter-in-place at nearby schools.

The state Attorney General's Office confirmed that the unidentified gunman was shot dead by police after hours of negotiations. The gunman has not been identified pending the notification of family members.

The Attorney General's Shooting Response Team is investigating the circumstances of the shooting.
read more here


Sunday, February 18, 2018

Dying Vietnam Veteran and Wife Face Eviction

Sunbury man faces eviction, terminal illness
The Daily Item
By Rick Dandes and Justin Strawser
6 hrs ago

SUNBURY — Terminally ill and facing eviction, a Vietnam veteran and his wife are fighting the Veteran’s Administration for full disability benefits that would help them stay in their Sunbury home.
Robert Inglis The Daily Item

Dennis and Donda O'Brien of Sudbury talk about the prospect of losing their housing because of financial difficulties.
Dennis and Donda O’Brien this week sat quietly in their Edison Street home, a rental, wondering how long they’ll be able to stay.

“We need more money for rent, and utilities,” said Donda, his wife of three years. “Fighting the government costs a lot of money. We’ve been going in circles, repeating the application processes, writing letters to the V.A., to our congressmen, to presidents Obama and Trump.”

There are 21.8 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces as of 2014. The number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2014 was 3.8 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Trauma trickles down

The frustration shows on Dennis’s face. At 61, he said he has cancer of the throat, is terminally ill in the last stages of emphysema, and has a heart condition, broken neck and broken back. He has vertigo, headaches, and has trouble focusing his attention — all resulting, he believes from the head trauma originally suffered more than 40 years ago. An injury, O’Brien is convinced, the Veterans Administration has never fully addressed.
read more here

What State Budget puts "funds for vets' PTSD treatment on chopping block"

Wolf puts funds for vets' PTSD treatment on chopping block
CNHI News Service 
By John Finnerty
1 hr ago

HARRISBURG — The state Legislature set aside $750,000 to help veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the 2017-18 budget.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2018-19 budget proposal would eliminate the program even before it’s rolled out.

Wolf’s budget proposes an 8 percent increase in total spending for the state Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, but it zeroes out the money allocated on the new behavioral health support for veterans.

Joseph Butera, a spokesman for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said the department has not yet completed an outline for how the money allocated for the current budget year would be used.

Butera also said that the money for PTSD services had been included in the budget by the Legislature and while the governor’s spending plan doesn’t call for another year of funding for it, the administration hasn’t ruled it out either.

Butera said the administration can’t say how many people stand to benefit from the spending because the department hasn’t even figured out how exactly it proposes to spend the money.
read more here

Friday, November 24, 2017

Firefighters Saving Lives, Except Their Own

SAVING THOSE WHO SAVE OTHERS: A RETIRED CHIEF AIMS TO STOP FIREFIGHTER SUICIDES 
East County Magazine
By Miriam Raftery
November 22, 2017 

Most are young or in the prime of life; 228 were between age 17 and 30, 265 were  age 31 to 40, 269 were age 41 to 50, and 190 were age 51 to 60.  Firefighters in their  60s and 70s accounted for 48 and 30 suicides respectively, and 49 were of unknown age. 

(San Diego’s East County) – Last year, 69 firefighters in the U.S. died in the line of duty, the National Fire Protection Association reports. But far more  -- 139 – took their own lives.
So far this year, 86 firefighters have been lost through suicide—including Cal Fire Captain Ryan Mitchell, who killed himself at the Pine Valley Bridge in San Diego’s East County earlier this month.
Jeff Dill, CEO and founder of the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (www.ffbha.org) , is determined to save firefighters’ lives  through special workshops designed by a firefighter, for a firefighter.
The workshops are offered to fire departments across the nation. They focus on behavioral health awareness, suicide prevention, and making resources available to help firefighters and their families.  
“Five years ago, no one was taking down these names and numbers,” says Dill,  a retired battalion chief who got his masters degree in counseling in Illinois and has since done research to compile data on firefighter suicides, then went on to create programs to help prevent such tragedies.
Since 1880, when the earliest known suicide occurred (a fire chief in Auburn, New York), at least 1,078 firefighters have killed themselves.  Sixty of those deaths were in California, the fifth highest rate in the nation after Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York, the FFBHA reports.
read more here


In 2008, I received and award from the IFO for my work as a Chaplain. That was topped off only by hearing this video, intended for National Guard and Reservists, was helping police officers and firefighters.

When we can understand regular folks surviving trauma, it shouldn't be hard to understand when someone risks their lives on a daily basis to end up suffering for what they are willing to do for the rest of us.

They wouldn't be wounded if they didn't care enough to endure all of it for our sake!

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Penn State Gets New Mental Health Center?

It isn't just the VA spending money for "research" on PTSD but also the National Institute of Mental Health. Take a look at how long Cognitive therapy has been around.

Penn receives $6.4 million from NIMH for new mental health center

WHYY
Anne Hoffman
October 25, 2017

A $6.4 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health will fund a new research center at the University of Pennsylvania to study how evidence-based treatment can better circulate to more therapists and mental health care providers.

University of Pennsylvania (Ashley Hahn/PlanPhilly
Researchers want to try to reduce the “research to practice gap” in mental health.
Rinad Beidas, an assistant professor of psychiatry and director of implementation research at Penn, said it takes 17 years for a small percentage of research to make its way into community settings.
“That means that if an innovation today was developed to treat a particular condition, it’s likely that a patient with that condition today may never get that innovation,” she said. “And if they do get it, it will be many years in the future … there is a growing sense and understanding in the literature that that’s not acceptable.”
Take cognitive behavioral therapy, for example. It was developed in the 1960s, and though it’s been proved to work, lots of providers still don’t use it.