Fort Drum works with community on soldier mental health
North Country Public Radio
by Joanna Richards
Fort Drum, NY
Oct 11, 2012
For the first time since Fort Drum's expansion after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, all of its three brigade combat teams are back home at the post.
After revolving deployments in two wars, the need for mental health services in the 10th Mountain Division is unprecedented, and complicated.
Suicide rates and substance abuse remain problems throughout the military. Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury are the distinctive injuries of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. At Fort Drum, as in the rest of the military, demand for services is outpacing their availability.
Colonel Mark Thompson is commander of medical services at Fort Drum. He says the post is struggling to fill the gap: "Never has an all-volunteer force fought a 12-year war over a period of time," he says. "We continue to play catch-up because we're experiencing behavioral health care needs that we've never seen before, because we have a population that has not gone through what this population has gone through before."
read more here
Showing posts with label mental health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mental health. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Fort Campbell commander asks public for help with PTSD and TBI
Campbell seeks help in addressing PTSD, TBI
Army Times
By Kristin M. Hall
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 2, 2012
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Fort Campbell is reaching out to the medical community in Kentucky to help address the challenges of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury among returning service members and veterans.
Experts from the military’s top behavioral health and brain injury research agencies came to the Army installation on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line Tuesday to teach civilian behavioral health professionals about the military’s current research and treatments into the invisible wounds that have become prevalent among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Col. Paul R. Cordts, the commander of Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell, Ky., noted that President Obama issued an executive order in August that directed ways to improve mental health care for troops within the military and veterans under the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“We cannot do this alone on Fort Campbell,” Cordts said. “We depend on the community and we need your help in addressing these issues, especially around our mental health services.”
Faced with rising suicide rates, the Army and Fort Campbell held suicide prevention and awareness training for all its units last week. The Army recorded 131 potential suicides through the first eight months of 2012, and locally there have been 12 confirmed or suspected suicides among Fort Campbell soldiers so far this year.
read more here
Army Times
By Kristin M. Hall
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 2, 2012
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Fort Campbell is reaching out to the medical community in Kentucky to help address the challenges of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury among returning service members and veterans.
Experts from the military’s top behavioral health and brain injury research agencies came to the Army installation on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line Tuesday to teach civilian behavioral health professionals about the military’s current research and treatments into the invisible wounds that have become prevalent among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Col. Paul R. Cordts, the commander of Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell, Ky., noted that President Obama issued an executive order in August that directed ways to improve mental health care for troops within the military and veterans under the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“We cannot do this alone on Fort Campbell,” Cordts said. “We depend on the community and we need your help in addressing these issues, especially around our mental health services.”
Faced with rising suicide rates, the Army and Fort Campbell held suicide prevention and awareness training for all its units last week. The Army recorded 131 potential suicides through the first eight months of 2012, and locally there have been 12 confirmed or suspected suicides among Fort Campbell soldiers so far this year.
read more here
Monday, September 17, 2012
Not enough military staff to fight PTSD for Canadian troops
Not enough military staff to fight PTSD among returning soldiers: ombudsman
MURRAY BREWSTER
The Canadian Press
Published Monday, Sep. 17 2012
The military ombudsman says National Defence has not hired enough psychiatrists and other mental-health professionals to deal with a cresting tide of post-traumatic stress cases.
Pierre Daigle released a report Monday that challenges many of the reassurances the Harper government has given about the treatment of soldiers returning from the Afghan war.
He said there is a big gap between what the system can deliver and what it actually does for troops who’ve witnessed horrors overseas, and for their families.
“This gap is primarily the result of a chronic inability to achieve, or come close to achieving, the established manning level of the mental-health function,” said the 99-page report, tabled Monday just as Parliament resumed after its summer recess.
It said this shortfall has a profound impact on the front line delivery of care, treatment and support to military members with post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress injuries and to their families.
In some instances, the system is operating with 15 to 22 per cent fewer caregivers than needed.
read more here
MURRAY BREWSTER
The Canadian Press
Published Monday, Sep. 17 2012
The military ombudsman says National Defence has not hired enough psychiatrists and other mental-health professionals to deal with a cresting tide of post-traumatic stress cases.
Pierre Daigle released a report Monday that challenges many of the reassurances the Harper government has given about the treatment of soldiers returning from the Afghan war.
He said there is a big gap between what the system can deliver and what it actually does for troops who’ve witnessed horrors overseas, and for their families.
“This gap is primarily the result of a chronic inability to achieve, or come close to achieving, the established manning level of the mental-health function,” said the 99-page report, tabled Monday just as Parliament resumed after its summer recess.
It said this shortfall has a profound impact on the front line delivery of care, treatment and support to military members with post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress injuries and to their families.
In some instances, the system is operating with 15 to 22 per cent fewer caregivers than needed.
read more here
Senator Schumer wants VA to provide PTSD service dogs
Senator wants VA to provide dogs to more vets
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 16, 2012
ALBANY, N.Y. — Veterans with physical impairments can get reimbursed for the cost of having a service dog help them, but a new Veterans Administration directive is delaying compensation for veterans with mental and emotional concerns until further research is completed.
Sen. Charles Schumer of New York is releasing a letter to the Veterans Administration asking that it rescind its directive.
read more here
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 16, 2012
ALBANY, N.Y. — Veterans with physical impairments can get reimbursed for the cost of having a service dog help them, but a new Veterans Administration directive is delaying compensation for veterans with mental and emotional concerns until further research is completed.
Sen. Charles Schumer of New York is releasing a letter to the Veterans Administration asking that it rescind its directive.
read more here
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Military suicide studies must include drugs
Whenever I talk about treatment for PTSD, the topic usually turns to medications because for the majority of patients, this is too often all they get.
Medications are tricky to talk about. When a veteran tells me their medications are not working or make them feel worse, I tell them they need to talk to their doctor and let them know. That is the only way the doctor can decide what will work best for their own chemistry. Another factor is if they drink alcohol or take street drugs while on these medications, it will not allow them to work properly. That is about as far as I go on discussing medications because I am not a psychiatrist and far from an expert on drugs.
The next thing that has to be talked about is that medications for PTSD were not supposed to be the only answer in treating it. They need talk therapy with a psychologist that is an expert on trauma, or it will not do much good. They need to talk to people about their spiritual issues, or again, the treatment they receive will not do much good. They also need to take care of their bodies, learning how to calm themselves with being pro-active. Walking, Yoga, meditation and even their diet needs to be addressed. They have to treat the whole veteran to be able to heal the hole in the veteran.
The longer PTSD is not addressed, the longer medication will be required as part of the therapy. Vietnam veterans have accepted the fact they will be on medications the rest of their lives simply because of how long they suffered without help but the other thing they learned and offered hope to others is that it is never too late to live a better life.
Medications are tricky to talk about. When a veteran tells me their medications are not working or make them feel worse, I tell them they need to talk to their doctor and let them know. That is the only way the doctor can decide what will work best for their own chemistry. Another factor is if they drink alcohol or take street drugs while on these medications, it will not allow them to work properly. That is about as far as I go on discussing medications because I am not a psychiatrist and far from an expert on drugs.
The next thing that has to be talked about is that medications for PTSD were not supposed to be the only answer in treating it. They need talk therapy with a psychologist that is an expert on trauma, or it will not do much good. They need to talk to people about their spiritual issues, or again, the treatment they receive will not do much good. They also need to take care of their bodies, learning how to calm themselves with being pro-active. Walking, Yoga, meditation and even their diet needs to be addressed. They have to treat the whole veteran to be able to heal the hole in the veteran.
The longer PTSD is not addressed, the longer medication will be required as part of the therapy. Vietnam veterans have accepted the fact they will be on medications the rest of their lives simply because of how long they suffered without help but the other thing they learned and offered hope to others is that it is never too late to live a better life.
Government Addresses Suicides Without Looking at Suicide-Linked Drugs
The Boom in Suicides
by MARTHA ROSENBERG
SEPTEMBER 12, 2012
It would be laughable if it weren’t tragic. This week Surgeon General Regina Benjamin introduced a plan to stem the nation’s growing suicide rate without addressing the nation’s growing use of suicide-linked drugs.
Antidepressants like Prozac and Paxil, antipsychotics like Seroquel and Zyprexa and anti-seizure drugs like Lyrica and Neurontin are all linked to suicide in published reports and in FDA warnings. (Almost 5,000 newspaper reports link antidepressants to suicide, homicide and bizarre behavior.) Asthma drugs like Singulair, antismoking drugs like Chantix, acne drugs like Accutane and the still-in-use malaria drug Lariam, are also linked to suicide.
The US’s suicide rate has risen to 38,000 a year, says USA Today, after falling in the 1990s. The rise correlates with the debut of direct-to-consumer drug advertising in the late 1990s, the approval of many drugs with suicide links and more people taking psychoactive drugs for lifestyle problems.
Dr. Benjamin announced that federal grants totaling $55 million will save 20,000 lives in the next five years through suicide hotlines, more mental health workers in the VA, better depression screening and Facebook tracking of suicidal messages. Nowhere, including in the suicide-racked military, does she suggest looking at the overmedication which has gone hand-in-hand with the deaths. And on which the government is spending a lot more than $55 million.
Suicide increased more than 150 percent in the Army and more than 50 percent in the Marine Corps between 2001 to 2009, reported Military Times displaying graphs of the suicide and prescription drug increases, in a print edition, that are similar enough to be laid over one another. One in six service members was on a psychoactive drug in 2010 and “many troops are taking more than one kind, mixing several pills in daily ‘cocktails’ for example, an antidepressant with an antipsychotic to prevent nightmares, plus an anti-epileptic to reduce headaches–despite minimal clinical research testing such combinations,” said Military Times.
Eighty-nine percent of troops with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are now given psychoactive drugs and between 2005 and 2009, half of all TRICARE (the military health plan) prescriptions for people between 18 and 34 were for antidepressants. During the same time period, epilepsy drugs like Topamax and Neurontin, increasingly given off-label for mental conditions, increased 56 percent, reports Military Times. In 2008, 578,000 epilepsy pills and 89,000 antipsychotics were prescribed to deploying troops. What?
read more here
Monday, September 3, 2012
Tuscaloosa VA ranked No. 1 in vocational rehabilitation
Tuscaloosa VA ranked No. 1 in vocational rehabilitation
By Lydia Seabol Avant
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, September 3, 2012
TUSCALOOSA
A local program that helps veterans get back to work has been ranked the best of all VA centers in the U.S.
The vocational rehabilitation program at the Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which is aimed at helping veterans who have serious psychiatric diagnoses, has been operating since 2006 and helps about 25 veterans at any given time, said Dr. Thomas McNutt, the acting supervisory psychologist for the program.
The VA helps the veterans find part-time employment in town and then works with them and their employers to ensure the veterans are doing what they need to do and have the self-confidence to get back into the workforce, McNutt said.
read more here
By Lydia Seabol Avant
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, September 3, 2012
TUSCALOOSA
A local program that helps veterans get back to work has been ranked the best of all VA centers in the U.S.
The vocational rehabilitation program at the Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which is aimed at helping veterans who have serious psychiatric diagnoses, has been operating since 2006 and helps about 25 veterans at any given time, said Dr. Thomas McNutt, the acting supervisory psychologist for the program.
The VA helps the veterans find part-time employment in town and then works with them and their employers to ensure the veterans are doing what they need to do and have the self-confidence to get back into the workforce, McNutt said.
read more here
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Unemployment, mental health remain concerns for Oklahoma Guardsmen
Unemployment, mental health remain concerns for Oklahoma Guardsmen who have returned from deployments
Officials said about 22 percent of the 3,000 Oklahoma National Guardsmen who returned from a deployment to Afghanistan this spring remain unemployed.
NewsOK.com
BY BRYAN DEAN
Published: September 2, 2012
Unemployment and mental health issues continue to concern military officials months after about 3,000 Oklahoma National Guard soldiers returned from deployments to Afghanistan and Kuwait.
About 30 percent of the soldiers who returned from the deployment in March and April were unemployed when they got home. That number is now down to 22 percent, said Warren Griffis, director of the Guard's employment coordination program.
“It's high, but some of the numbers are people who may not have reported to us they got a job,” Griffis said. “Getting the accurate data has been a little tough. We also have full-time students. That's about 10 percent. Those are in the unemployment number.”
read more here
Officials said about 22 percent of the 3,000 Oklahoma National Guardsmen who returned from a deployment to Afghanistan this spring remain unemployed.
NewsOK.com
BY BRYAN DEAN
Published: September 2, 2012
Unemployment and mental health issues continue to concern military officials months after about 3,000 Oklahoma National Guard soldiers returned from deployments to Afghanistan and Kuwait.
About 30 percent of the soldiers who returned from the deployment in March and April were unemployed when they got home. That number is now down to 22 percent, said Warren Griffis, director of the Guard's employment coordination program.
“It's high, but some of the numbers are people who may not have reported to us they got a job,” Griffis said. “Getting the accurate data has been a little tough. We also have full-time students. That's about 10 percent. Those are in the unemployment number.”
read more here
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Navy veteran cannot sue VA therapist over sexual abuse?
Vet Can't Sue U.S. Over Therapist's Sexual Abuse
By JOSEPH CELENTINO
CHICAGO (CN) - A Navy veteran cannot sue the U.S. government over sexual abuse by a Veterans Affairs therapist who treated him for mental illnesses, the 7th Circuit ruled.
Wisconsin resident Ronald Lee Glade was discharged from the Navy at 18 or 19 soon after joining because of ongoing mental illness. Sexually abused as a child, Glade suffered from PTSD, panic disorder and bipolar disorder, and may be schizophrenic.
The 64-year-old has been receiving inpatient and outpatient psychiatric treatment over the last 23 years from the VA, both at the agency's facilities and in his home.
In late 2007, a VA therapist began a sexual relationship with him. Though Glade initially resisted, the therapist insisted that it was a necessary part of treatment.
Glade complained to another psychologist in 2008, and after a VA investigation, the therapist admitted the sexual relationship.
Glade sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, claiming the sexual abuse caused emotional distress that exacerbated his illness.
But because the FTCA specifically exempts claims of battery by federal employees, Glade alleged negligence by the therapist's supervisors in failing to detect and prevent the sexual battery.
read more here
By JOSEPH CELENTINO
CHICAGO (CN) - A Navy veteran cannot sue the U.S. government over sexual abuse by a Veterans Affairs therapist who treated him for mental illnesses, the 7th Circuit ruled.
Wisconsin resident Ronald Lee Glade was discharged from the Navy at 18 or 19 soon after joining because of ongoing mental illness. Sexually abused as a child, Glade suffered from PTSD, panic disorder and bipolar disorder, and may be schizophrenic.
The 64-year-old has been receiving inpatient and outpatient psychiatric treatment over the last 23 years from the VA, both at the agency's facilities and in his home.
In late 2007, a VA therapist began a sexual relationship with him. Though Glade initially resisted, the therapist insisted that it was a necessary part of treatment.
Glade complained to another psychologist in 2008, and after a VA investigation, the therapist admitted the sexual relationship.
Glade sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, claiming the sexual abuse caused emotional distress that exacerbated his illness.
But because the FTCA specifically exempts claims of battery by federal employees, Glade alleged negligence by the therapist's supervisors in failing to detect and prevent the sexual battery.
read more here
Monday, August 27, 2012
Officials trying to reinstate veterans' counselor
Officials trying to reinstate veterans' counselor
By Randy Billings
Staff Writer
Morning Sentinel
PORTLAND — Officials are ramping up efforts to convince the Maine Veterans Affairs Medical Center to reinstate a full-time counselor position at the city's Oxford Street Shelter.
The full-time VA representative has been credited with connecting homeless veterans with services more quickly and reducing the number of nights they must stay at the shelter. The position, created in 2011, was cut in June.
City officials have been lobbying the VA Maine Healthcare System, and are getting support from the state's two congressional representatives. They argue that not filling the position is contrary to a federal initiative to end homelessness among veterans.
Both Reps. Michael Michaud and Chellie Pingree sent letters to the VA, pointing out that U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and President Obama have made eliminating homelessness among veterans a top priority.
"Given the large amount of homeless veterans in the Portland area, I request you reconsider (the) VA's decision and employ a full-time service representative at this location immediately," Pingree wrote on Aug. 22. "I believe this type of collaboration among VA and other providers is the best way to achieve Secretary Shinseki's goal of ending homelessness among veterans."
read more here
By Randy Billings
Staff Writer
Morning Sentinel
PORTLAND — Officials are ramping up efforts to convince the Maine Veterans Affairs Medical Center to reinstate a full-time counselor position at the city's Oxford Street Shelter.
The full-time VA representative has been credited with connecting homeless veterans with services more quickly and reducing the number of nights they must stay at the shelter. The position, created in 2011, was cut in June.
City officials have been lobbying the VA Maine Healthcare System, and are getting support from the state's two congressional representatives. They argue that not filling the position is contrary to a federal initiative to end homelessness among veterans.
Both Reps. Michael Michaud and Chellie Pingree sent letters to the VA, pointing out that U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and President Obama have made eliminating homelessness among veterans a top priority.
"Given the large amount of homeless veterans in the Portland area, I request you reconsider (the) VA's decision and employ a full-time service representative at this location immediately," Pingree wrote on Aug. 22. "I believe this type of collaboration among VA and other providers is the best way to achieve Secretary Shinseki's goal of ending homelessness among veterans."
read more here
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Military veterans say mental health services need to improve
Military veterans say mental health services need to improve
By DIONNE GLEATON
T and D Staff Writer
Zeke Felder wanted to serve his country by enlisting in the military, but the Army drafted him first. Now the Vietnam War veteran is not finding the government as quick when it comes to providing the treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It looks like it takes forever to get that done. I don’t think a veteran should wait that long. They make every veteran prove what they did, what happened and what caused the trauma, and that’s very hard to do. It took me quite some time to get the claims that I applied for, but I encourage any veteran to become a member of a group,” said Felder, who is a member of the South Carolina Veteran’s Group based in North.
“Sometimes a veteran, especially if he has PTSD, has problems with family matters. You got to really experience these things to really know what a veteran is going through. We talk to veterans about how to cope with problems and also try to put them on the right road for putting in claims and so forth,” he said.
Processing claims is not the only difficulty. Some veterans are unhappy with the telemental health services being offered by the Orangeburg County Outpatient VA Medical Clinic to provide veterans living in rural and underserved communities with improved access to specialty care.
Those veterans feel they are losing the person-to-person therapy they’re used to. Instead, they’re being referred to a phone-based service.
read more here
By DIONNE GLEATON
T and D Staff Writer
Zeke Felder wanted to serve his country by enlisting in the military, but the Army drafted him first. Now the Vietnam War veteran is not finding the government as quick when it comes to providing the treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It looks like it takes forever to get that done. I don’t think a veteran should wait that long. They make every veteran prove what they did, what happened and what caused the trauma, and that’s very hard to do. It took me quite some time to get the claims that I applied for, but I encourage any veteran to become a member of a group,” said Felder, who is a member of the South Carolina Veteran’s Group based in North.
“Sometimes a veteran, especially if he has PTSD, has problems with family matters. You got to really experience these things to really know what a veteran is going through. We talk to veterans about how to cope with problems and also try to put them on the right road for putting in claims and so forth,” he said.
Processing claims is not the only difficulty. Some veterans are unhappy with the telemental health services being offered by the Orangeburg County Outpatient VA Medical Clinic to provide veterans living in rural and underserved communities with improved access to specialty care.
Those veterans feel they are losing the person-to-person therapy they’re used to. Instead, they’re being referred to a phone-based service.
read more here
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Wis. State Senator Connects Her Politics To Her Past
Wis. State Senator Connects Her Politics To Her Past
By DAVID GREENE
Originally published on Wed August 22, 2012
As the presidential election nears, Morning Edition is visiting swing counties in swing states for our series First and Main. We're listening to voters where they live — to understand what's shaping their thinking this election year. This week, we're spending time in Winnebago County, Wis., where we spoke with two women — one Democrat, one Republican — who embody their state's Midwestern charm and spirit of self-reliance.
First, we hear from the Democrat.
Last year, Jessica King became a Wisconsin state senator, swept into office in a wave of special recall votes. It was part of the larger political drama that saw Wisconsin's governor avoid his own recall.
King, 37, made history. In part of her district, she's the first Democrat to serve as state senator since the 1930s.
Her secret to representing a Republican area?
"I'm realistic. I represent approximately 160,000 people, and you have to ask yourself, 'When's the last time you remember 160,000 people agreeing on anything?' Probably never," she says. "If I can get people to agree with me 7 out of 10 times, I'm probably doing a good job.
"Now for those three times that maybe people think, 'Well, my priorities line up differently than the senator's' — well, as long as I do what every fifth-grade math teacher told me to do, which is 'show my work' — show my work, explain it — people then at least respect me."
When we met in a coffee shop in downtown Oshkosh, Wis., the youngest woman in Wisconsin's state Senate was wearing a business suit and was on the go, stealing bits of a muffin that was her breakfast.
King's story began with a tough childhood.
"My father really suffered from today what we call, you know, post-traumatic stress disorder," King says. "My mother actually suffered from schizophrenia."
Her dad's PTSD dates to when he served on a destroyer in the Pacific before the Vietnam War.
read more here
By DAVID GREENE
Originally published on Wed August 22, 2012
As the presidential election nears, Morning Edition is visiting swing counties in swing states for our series First and Main. We're listening to voters where they live — to understand what's shaping their thinking this election year. This week, we're spending time in Winnebago County, Wis., where we spoke with two women — one Democrat, one Republican — who embody their state's Midwestern charm and spirit of self-reliance.
First, we hear from the Democrat.
Last year, Jessica King became a Wisconsin state senator, swept into office in a wave of special recall votes. It was part of the larger political drama that saw Wisconsin's governor avoid his own recall.
King, 37, made history. In part of her district, she's the first Democrat to serve as state senator since the 1930s.
Her secret to representing a Republican area?
"I'm realistic. I represent approximately 160,000 people, and you have to ask yourself, 'When's the last time you remember 160,000 people agreeing on anything?' Probably never," she says. "If I can get people to agree with me 7 out of 10 times, I'm probably doing a good job.
"Now for those three times that maybe people think, 'Well, my priorities line up differently than the senator's' — well, as long as I do what every fifth-grade math teacher told me to do, which is 'show my work' — show my work, explain it — people then at least respect me."
When we met in a coffee shop in downtown Oshkosh, Wis., the youngest woman in Wisconsin's state Senate was wearing a business suit and was on the go, stealing bits of a muffin that was her breakfast.
King's story began with a tough childhood.
"My father really suffered from today what we call, you know, post-traumatic stress disorder," King says. "My mother actually suffered from schizophrenia."
Her dad's PTSD dates to when he served on a destroyer in the Pacific before the Vietnam War.
read more here
Sunday, August 19, 2012
1 in 5 soldiers in Afghanistan report acute stress, depression, or anxiety
Army morale declines in survey
Soldiers cite failings of senior officers and some worry service may be going 'soft'
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff
August 19, 2012
WASHINGTON — Only a quarter of the Army’s officers and enlisted soldiers believe the nation’s largest military branch is headed in the right direction — a survey response that is the lowest on record and reflects what some in the service call a crisis in confidence.
The detailed annual survey by a team of independent researchers found that the most common reasons cited for the bleak outlook were “ineffective leaders at senior levels,” a fear of losing the best and the brightest after a decade of war, and the perception, especially among senior enlisted soldiers, that “the Army is too soft” and lacks sufficient discipline.
The study, ordered by the Center for Army Leadership at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, also found that one in four troops serving in Afghanistan rated morale either “low” or “very low,” part of a steady downward trend over the last five years.
But the most striking finding is widespread disagreement with the statement that “the Army is headed in the right direction to prepare for the challenges of the next 10 years.”
“In 2011, [active duty] agreement to this statement hit an all-time low,” according to the survey results, a copy of which were provided to The Boston Globe. “Belief that the Army is headed in the right direction is positively related to morale.”
read more here
Linked from Stars and Stripes
Soldiers cite failings of senior officers and some worry service may be going 'soft'
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff
August 19, 2012
One in five of those surveyed in Afghanistan reported they suffer from a psychological problem, such as acute stress, depression, or anxiety.
WASHINGTON — Only a quarter of the Army’s officers and enlisted soldiers believe the nation’s largest military branch is headed in the right direction — a survey response that is the lowest on record and reflects what some in the service call a crisis in confidence.
The detailed annual survey by a team of independent researchers found that the most common reasons cited for the bleak outlook were “ineffective leaders at senior levels,” a fear of losing the best and the brightest after a decade of war, and the perception, especially among senior enlisted soldiers, that “the Army is too soft” and lacks sufficient discipline.
The study, ordered by the Center for Army Leadership at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, also found that one in four troops serving in Afghanistan rated morale either “low” or “very low,” part of a steady downward trend over the last five years.
But the most striking finding is widespread disagreement with the statement that “the Army is headed in the right direction to prepare for the challenges of the next 10 years.”
“In 2011, [active duty] agreement to this statement hit an all-time low,” according to the survey results, a copy of which were provided to The Boston Globe. “Belief that the Army is headed in the right direction is positively related to morale.”
read more here
Linked from Stars and Stripes
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Philanthropist's death sparks unusual lawsuit
Philanthropist's death sparks unusual lawsuit
By LINDA DEUTSCH
AP Special Correspondent
Published August 04, 2012
LOS ANGELES – When former model and philanthropist Phyllis Harvey died last year at the age of 59, little note was taken. Brief paid obituaries appeared in Los Angeles and her hometown paper in North Carolina.
There was no mention of how she died. Nothing was said about her struggle with alcoholism and mental illness. And there was no reference to one of the final projects she helped fund with nearly a half million dollars.
Those details now figure prominently in a medical board complaint and wrongful death lawsuit claiming her psychiatrist coaxed $490,000 in research funding from her while she was under powerful doses of psychotropic drugs that eventually killed her.
The suit filed on behalf of Brian Harvey by attorney Daniel M. Hodes accuses University of California, Los Angeles psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Bystritsky of causing Phyllis Harvey's death with a dangerous combination of drugs that altered her heart rhythm.
Hodes says that Mrs. Harvey was hospitalized several times for heart abnormalities associated with drugs, and that emergency room doctors discontinued her medications only to have Bystritsky resume giving them to her when she was discharged.
Brian Harvey earned a fortune by selling an invention for coating electronic wires with recycled metal from beer cans. Following the sale of his company, he and his wife formed the Brian and Phyllis Harvey foundation to fund scholarships and other donations. The lawsuit claims Bystritsky knew of the couple's wealth and charitable giving and insinuated himself into their lives with house calls, long chats and email with Phyllis Harvey while treating her undiagnosed mental illness. He allegedly touted his own credentials and convinced her to give large donations to research a device that might cure her.
read more here
By LINDA DEUTSCH
AP Special Correspondent
Published August 04, 2012
LOS ANGELES – When former model and philanthropist Phyllis Harvey died last year at the age of 59, little note was taken. Brief paid obituaries appeared in Los Angeles and her hometown paper in North Carolina.
There was no mention of how she died. Nothing was said about her struggle with alcoholism and mental illness. And there was no reference to one of the final projects she helped fund with nearly a half million dollars.
Those details now figure prominently in a medical board complaint and wrongful death lawsuit claiming her psychiatrist coaxed $490,000 in research funding from her while she was under powerful doses of psychotropic drugs that eventually killed her.
The suit filed on behalf of Brian Harvey by attorney Daniel M. Hodes accuses University of California, Los Angeles psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Bystritsky of causing Phyllis Harvey's death with a dangerous combination of drugs that altered her heart rhythm.
Hodes says that Mrs. Harvey was hospitalized several times for heart abnormalities associated with drugs, and that emergency room doctors discontinued her medications only to have Bystritsky resume giving them to her when she was discharged.
Brian Harvey earned a fortune by selling an invention for coating electronic wires with recycled metal from beer cans. Following the sale of his company, he and his wife formed the Brian and Phyllis Harvey foundation to fund scholarships and other donations. The lawsuit claims Bystritsky knew of the couple's wealth and charitable giving and insinuated himself into their lives with house calls, long chats and email with Phyllis Harvey while treating her undiagnosed mental illness. He allegedly touted his own credentials and convinced her to give large donations to research a device that might cure her.
read more here
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Mental Health Funds Lacking in Florida for Veterans and Families
Mental Health Funds Lacking in Florida
WJHG-TV
Large numbers of veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. They are also finding delays in getting treatment. Mark Alvarez is the commander of VFW post 3308. He believes that as many as 40 percent coming home are feeling the effects of combat.
"They're very quiet, you know, very edgy sometimes. They lose their focus at times," said Commander Alvarez.
A swamped Veterans Administration is the first place for those seeking help to turn.
After that, it is private or state programs. The problem is that Florida ranks 50th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in mental health funding. Experts say the state is losing ground. read more here
WJHG-TV
Large numbers of veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. They are also finding delays in getting treatment. Mark Alvarez is the commander of VFW post 3308. He believes that as many as 40 percent coming home are feeling the effects of combat.
"They're very quiet, you know, very edgy sometimes. They lose their focus at times," said Commander Alvarez.
A swamped Veterans Administration is the first place for those seeking help to turn.
After that, it is private or state programs. The problem is that Florida ranks 50th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in mental health funding. Experts say the state is losing ground. read more here
Monday, June 11, 2012
VA hiring mental health professionals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2012
VA Announces Aggressive National Recruitment Effort to Hire Mental Health Professionals
WASHINGTON (June 11, 2012)- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki recently announced the department would add approximately 1,600 mental health clinicians as well as nearly 300 support staff to its existing workforce to help meet the increased demand for mental health services. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has developed an aggressive national recruitment program to implement the hiring process quickly and efficiently.
“The mental health and well-being of our brave men and women who have served the Nation is the highest priority for this department,” said Secretary Shinseki. “We must ensure that all Veterans seeking mental health care have access to timely, responsive and high-quality care.”
VA has developed an aggressive national mental health hiring initiative to improve recruitment and hiring, marketing, education and training programs, and retention efforts for mental health professionals, to include targeted recruitment in rural and highly-rural markets. This will help VA to meet existing and future demands of mental health care services in an integrated collaborative team environment and continue to position VA as an exemplary workplace for mental health care professionals.
It is critical for VA to proactively engage psychiatrists and other mental health care providers about the vital mission to deliver high-quality mental health services, especially for returning combat Veterans.
“The VA mental health community is aggressively transforming the way mental health care services are provided to the Veteran population. As the mental health care workforce continues to increase, VA is committed to improving Veterans’ access to services, especially for at-risk Veterans,” said VA’s Under Secretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel.
The national recruitment program provides VHA with an in-house team of highly skilled professional recruiters employing private sector best practices to fill the agency’s most mission critical clinical and executive positions. The recruitment team consists of 21 national, dedicated health care recruiters targeting physician and specialty health care occupations. These recruiters also understand the needs of Veterans because each member is a Veteran.
VHA has also established a hiring and tracking task force to provide oversight for this initiative to move the process forward expeditiously in a focused manner to ensure challenges, issues, or concerns are addressed and resolved. This task force is accountable for reporting progress in hiring of mental health professionals in these occupations: psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, social workers, mental health technicians, marriage and family therapists and licensed professional counselors.
VHA anticipates the majority of hires will be selected within approximately six months and the most “hard-to-fill” positions filled by the end of the second quarter of FY 2013. VA has an existing workforce of 20,590 mental health staff that includes nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.
Interested mental health care providers can find additional information about VA careers and apply for jobs online atwww.vacareers.va.gov. To locate the nearest VA facility or Vet Center for enrollment and to get scheduled for care, Veterans can visit VA’s website at www.va.gov. Immediate help is available at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net or by calling the Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 (push 1) or texting 838255.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Man, 38, dies after struggle with police in Southwest Washington
Man, 38, dies after struggle with police in Southwest Washington
By Clarence Williams and Martin Weil
Published: June 9
A 38-year-old man died Friday afternoon after a struggle with D.C. police officers who were sent to an address in Southwest Washington to assist personnel from the Department of Mental Health, police said.
The man, identified as Anthony Chambers, assaulted four officers after they arrived at an apartment in the unit block of P Street SW, police said.
After being subdued and handcuffed, police said, Chambers lost consciousness. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said. They said an autopsy would be done to determine the cause of death.
read more here
By Clarence Williams and Martin Weil
Published: June 9
A 38-year-old man died Friday afternoon after a struggle with D.C. police officers who were sent to an address in Southwest Washington to assist personnel from the Department of Mental Health, police said.
The man, identified as Anthony Chambers, assaulted four officers after they arrived at an apartment in the unit block of P Street SW, police said.
After being subdued and handcuffed, police said, Chambers lost consciousness. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said. They said an autopsy would be done to determine the cause of death.
read more here
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Fort Campbell looking for a few good,,,,psychiatrists
Fort Campbell seeks psychiatrists, 48 needed
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Army hospital at Fort Campbell has expanded its search for psychiatrists as most newly created jobs remain unfilled.
The Army post on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line is putting out an urgent call for applicants and expanding its search beyond the immediate area of Fort Campbell and surrounding communities, The Leaf-Chronicle reported.
The post is trying to fill positions created by their new Embedded Behavioral Health Program, which will put a 13 person team in each of the 101st Airborne Division's four combat brigades. Of the 52 positions created by that new program, 48 remain unfilled.
read more here
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Army hospital at Fort Campbell has expanded its search for psychiatrists as most newly created jobs remain unfilled.
The Army post on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line is putting out an urgent call for applicants and expanding its search beyond the immediate area of Fort Campbell and surrounding communities, The Leaf-Chronicle reported.
The post is trying to fill positions created by their new Embedded Behavioral Health Program, which will put a 13 person team in each of the 101st Airborne Division's four combat brigades. Of the 52 positions created by that new program, 48 remain unfilled.
read more here
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Mental Health Worker Fatally Stabbed While Delivering Medication
Mental Health Worker Fatally Stabbed While Delivering Medication
ABC News
(ST. HELENS, Ore.) The stabbing death of a mental health worker has put the spotlight on the safety of home visits.
Jennifer Warren, 38, was killed Sunday while delivering medication to a patient in St. Helens, Ore., ABC affiliate KATU reported. Warren worked for Columbia Community Mental Health, which provides in-home counseling and medication management for people with mental illness.
"She was a real good worker," Columbia Community Mental Health's director Roland Migchielsen told KATU.
"We had her for 10 years, and this is a devastating loss."
The suspect, 30-year-old Brent Redd, was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries, KATU reported. Police would not say whether Redd's injuries were self-inflicted or the result of a struggle with Warren, but did say he called 911 to report what he'd done.
In 2007, Redd was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted murder of his mother. He was sentenced to 20 years under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board, a sentence he started serving in Oregon State Hospital. But in 2010, the board granted Redd conditional release into community care.
"Public safety is the first concern of the Psychiatric Security Review Board," Mary Claire Buckley, executive director of the board, said in a statement Sunday. "Today's tragic incident is the first time in 34 years when any client under the board's jurisdiction has been alleged to have committed a violent act of this nature."
Because of patient confidentiality laws, the nature of Redd's mental illness is not known. His family told KATU he had been taking antipsychotic and antidepressant medications, but that the doses had been scaled back for an upcoming surgery.
read more here
Oregon man accused of slaying mental health caseworker suffers neck wound, remains in ICU
Suspect's family blames system for death of mental health care worker
ABC News
(ST. HELENS, Ore.) The stabbing death of a mental health worker has put the spotlight on the safety of home visits.
Jennifer Warren, 38, was killed Sunday while delivering medication to a patient in St. Helens, Ore., ABC affiliate KATU reported. Warren worked for Columbia Community Mental Health, which provides in-home counseling and medication management for people with mental illness.
"She was a real good worker," Columbia Community Mental Health's director Roland Migchielsen told KATU.
"We had her for 10 years, and this is a devastating loss."
The suspect, 30-year-old Brent Redd, was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries, KATU reported. Police would not say whether Redd's injuries were self-inflicted or the result of a struggle with Warren, but did say he called 911 to report what he'd done.
In 2007, Redd was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted murder of his mother. He was sentenced to 20 years under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board, a sentence he started serving in Oregon State Hospital. But in 2010, the board granted Redd conditional release into community care.
"Public safety is the first concern of the Psychiatric Security Review Board," Mary Claire Buckley, executive director of the board, said in a statement Sunday. "Today's tragic incident is the first time in 34 years when any client under the board's jurisdiction has been alleged to have committed a violent act of this nature."
Because of patient confidentiality laws, the nature of Redd's mental illness is not known. His family told KATU he had been taking antipsychotic and antidepressant medications, but that the doses had been scaled back for an upcoming surgery.
read more here
Oregon man accused of slaying mental health caseworker suffers neck wound, remains in ICU
Suspect's family blames system for death of mental health care worker
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Soldiers fail to seek PTSD treatment or drop out of therapy early
What they are getting is not working, has not worked and will not work until the DOD stops listening to the wrong people!
Soldiers fail to seek PTSD treatment or drop out of therapy early, research finds
By SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 15, 2012
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Roughly half of the soldiers who return from war with post-traumatic stress disorder don’t seek treatment, and many more drop out of therapy early, according to military research presented at last week’s American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting.
“Fewer than half of the soldiers who report symptoms of combat-related PTSD receive the care they need,” Maj. Gary H. Wynn, a research psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, said during a presentation to the association. “And of those soldiers who do start treatment, between 20 percent and 50 percent walk away before its completion.”
Army analysis of multiple studies suggests that most servicemembers have at least one experience during deployment that could lead to PTSD, and 15 percent of U.S. infantrymen who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan have returned with the disorder, a condition characterized with such symptoms as depression, anger, mistrust, panic, guilt and violent behavior, physical pain, dizziness and trouble sleeping, Wynn said.
read more here
Monday, May 14, 2012
Active-duty troops hospitalized for mental disorders rose 19 percent in 2011
Mental disorder hospitalizations up 19% in 2011
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Monday May 14, 2012
The number of active-duty troops hospitalized for mental disorders rose 19 percent in 2011, to 21,735, up from 18,250 in 2010, according to a Defense Department morbidity report released Monday.
The statistics mean that for the second straight year, mental disorders have supplanted pregnancy as the number one reason active-duty personnel are hospitalized.
From 2006 to 2009, pregnancy-related conditions and childbirth were the top reasons service members were admitted to hospital.
But in 2010, mental disorders — mainly adjustment diagnoses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and episodic mood disorders, including major depression and bipolar disorder — were associated with more hospitalizations among the active-duty component than any other medical condition.
And the trend continued in 2011.
“Together, these two conditions accounted for 15 percent and 17 percent of all hospitalizations of males and females (excluding pregnancy) respectively,” according to an Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center report released Monday.
read more here
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Monday May 14, 2012
The number of active-duty troops hospitalized for mental disorders rose 19 percent in 2011, to 21,735, up from 18,250 in 2010, according to a Defense Department morbidity report released Monday.
The statistics mean that for the second straight year, mental disorders have supplanted pregnancy as the number one reason active-duty personnel are hospitalized.
From 2006 to 2009, pregnancy-related conditions and childbirth were the top reasons service members were admitted to hospital.
But in 2010, mental disorders — mainly adjustment diagnoses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and episodic mood disorders, including major depression and bipolar disorder — were associated with more hospitalizations among the active-duty component than any other medical condition.
And the trend continued in 2011.
“Together, these two conditions accounted for 15 percent and 17 percent of all hospitalizations of males and females (excluding pregnancy) respectively,” according to an Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center report released Monday.
read more here
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