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Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $1 Billion Ushers In a New Era of Mental Health Care
The day after Gov. Kathy Hochul released her budget proposal in 2023, she declared that “the era of ignoring mental health needs is over.” She had just announced a historic $1 billion plan to transform the state’s mental health system at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. Her plan came on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, which stripped bare immense mental health needs across the state and beyond. In New York City alone, nearly half of teens experienced symptoms of depression in 2023, according to city data. Teenagers across the country are more likely to say they are persistently sad and think about suicide than a decade ago, a trend exacerbated by the isolation and stress caused by the pandemic. The pandemic also diverted hospital resources away from mental health, leaving fewer inpatient beds for people in mental health crises. Read more here.
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Governor Hochul Announces 20 Million Test Strips Distributed in New York’s Efforts to Address Opioid and Overdose Crisis
Governor Kathy Hochul last week announced that New York State has surpassed the milestone of distributing 20 million fentanyl and xylazine test strips statewide. These efforts and other initiatives are making an impact to help prevent drug overdoses, save lives, and address the opioid and overdose crisis. The Governor highlighted recently released federal data showing that estimated overdose deaths in areas of New York State outside New York City declined 9 percent in the 12-month period ending March 2024 compared to the prior 12-month period. Estimated overdose deaths in New York City declined 3.1 percent in the same period. Read more here.
Related: Impact Report: Rural Reponses to the Opioid Epidemic
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Rethinking Addiction as a Chronic Brain Disease
The message emblazoned on a walkway window at the airport in Burlington, Vt., is a startling departure from the usual tourism posters and welcome banners:
“Addiction is not a choice. It’s a disease that can happen to anyone.” The statement is part of a public service campaign in yet another community assailed by drug use, intended to reduce stigma and encourage treatment. For decades, medical science has classified addiction as a chronic brain disease, but the concept has always been something of a hard sell to a skeptical public. That is because, unlike diseases such as Alzheimer’s or bone cancer or Covid, personal choice does play a role, both in starting and ending drug use. The idea that those who use drugs are themselves at fault has recently been gaining fresh traction, driving efforts to toughen criminal penalties for drug possession and to cut funding for syringe-exchange programs. Read more here.
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NACo Report: County Leadership in Mental Health: How Counties are Leading the Way in Crisis System Transformation
America’s 3,069 counties are integral to the local behavioral health system of care, including crisis care. Each year counties invest billions in the infrastructure in community health, hospitals, and social services, as well as $107 billion in justice and public safety systems. Since its launch, 988 has received 9.6 million calls, texts, and chats. Demand could increase significantly given that a poll in October 2023 found that only 22 percent of respondents were familiar with 988 and 29 percent had never heard of it. Counties are working to develop and support new models of servicing individuals in crisis that are tailored to fit the unique needs of their community. As exemplified by Los Angeles County, Calif., King County, Wash., and Monroe County, N.Y., innovation is occurring at the county level. The need for long term support, collaboration and shared learnings are critical as these systems mature. Read the report here.
Related: How NYC can best respond to mental health crises
NACo Commission on Mental Health and Wellbeing From Crisis to Solutions: Policy Catalysts for Improved Outcomes
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Why Is the Loneliness Epidemic So Hard to Cure?
In the early months of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic settled over the country, a psychologist and Harvard lecturer named Richard Weissbourd approached his colleagues with a concept for a new kind of study. Loneliness, or the specter of it, seemed to Weissbourd to be everywhere — in the solitude of quarantine, in the darkened windows of the buildings on campus, in the Zoom squares that had come to serve as his primary conduit to his students. Two years earlier, he read a study from Cigna, the insurance provider, showing that 46 percent of Americans felt sometimes or always alone. In 2019, when Cigna replicated the study, the number of lonely respondents had grown to 52 percent. God knows what the data would say now, Weissbourd thought. Read more here.
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How a Leading Chain of Psychiatric Hospitals Traps Patients
Acadia Healthcare is one of America’s largest chains of psychiatric hospitals. Since the pandemic exacerbated a national mental health crisis, the company’s revenue has soared. Its stock price has more than doubled. But a New York Times investigation found that some of that success was built on a disturbing practice: Acadia has lured patients into its facilities and held them against their will, even when detaining them was not medically necessary. In at least 12 of the 19 states where Acadia operates psychiatric hospitals, dozens of patients, employees and police officers have alerted the authorities that the company was detaining people in ways that violated the law, according to records reviewed by The Times. In some cases, judges have intervened to force Acadia to release patients. Read more here.
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Unlocking Better Outcomes: Data-Driven Measurement’s Role in Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Measurement-based care has been hailed by payers and providers as essential to promoting evidence-based, individualized treatment. Substance use disorder (SUD) providers hoping to craft new reimbursement arrangements or improve patient outcomes must establish robust internal measurement systems. Collecting patient data alone does not drive change, however. Providers must also leverage their findings to adjust treatment courses, engage patients and inform payers. “When we’re looking at how to use data to improve patient outcomes and to inform patient care, it’s important to think about it as a measurement-based care model so you’re actually doing something with the data that you gather that directly impacts the course of treatment that an individual is experiencing,” Dr. Suzette Glasner, chief scientific officer of Pelago, said at the Behavioral Health Business Autism & Addiction Treatment Forum. Read more here.
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Where Do First Responders Turn When They Need Help?
“The last thing he must have heard were the bells of St. Elizabeth’s,” a neighbor told City & State, standing just down the block from the Washington Heights apartment building where New York City police officer Gregory Purvis shot himself on Aug. 20. Following Purvis’ death, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Operations Kaz Daughtry wrote on X about the mental health struggles that police officers experience. “You call the police for the worst moments of your life. Our officers respond to those calls and help you in those terrible moments. But then, when that moment is over for you, our officers go to the next call for help, the next victim having the next traumatizing moment, and then the next, and the next; and then they go home and try to have a normal life, managing all the trauma they’ve been exposed to, and wake up to do it again,” Daughtry wrote. Read more here.
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Community Colleges Step Up to Address Young Adults' Mental Health
For many young adults, the future doesn’t seem so bright. Young people are increasingly “uncertain about what's going to happen in the future, and they don't really see an easy path to get there,” said Carol Graham, senior fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. Rising college and housing costs have made key pieces of the American dream harder for young people to achieve. Social media has been blamed for declining youth mental health. And issues like political polarization, climate change and a tough job market for the college graduating class of 2024 are also contributing to a loss of hope among college-age individuals, Graham said. Now community colleges, which play a key role in making post-secondary education more accessible, are focusing on their students’ mental health and life skills, along with academic education and career readiness. Read more here.
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Braiding Medicaid Funds to Support Person Centered Care: Lessons from Medi-Cal
California’s CalAIM initiative is creating new ways for organizations to tap into Medi-Cal (California Medicaid) funding to provide comprehensive, person-centered care and services. Yet, to do this effectively, social service organizations often need to braid multiple funding streams — a relatively new concept for many service delivery organizations in California and across the country. This brief draws from interviews with health care and social service organizations in California to understand how they are braiding funding, identify strategies for managing related challenges and risks, and highlight opportunities for health care payers to make it easier to braid funds. A recent webinar featured two community-based organizations explaining how they braid funding, within and outside Medi-Cal, to deliver integrated whole-person care. Braiding funding streams — when health care and social service organizations bring together funds from various sources to support a unified goal or program — is a promising strategy for maximizing financing to promote the delivery of services for people with complex health and social needs.
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FORE Awards $1 Million to Two Organizations that Engage and Inform Policymakers
FORE today announced it is awarding grants to two nonpartisan organizations that work to inform policymakers about evidence-based practices and health policy solutions. It is awarding $650,468 to the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) to support state policymakers as they explore ways of optimizing funding from opioid settlements dollars and other government funding sources to promote innovation and address gaps in the continuum of care. The new grant builds on two previous FORE awards, which launched NASHP’s State Policy Center for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Access. The center serves as a forum for leaders in the executive and legislative branches of state governments to discuss how state-specific policies can facilitate or impede access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery supports. Read more here.
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The State Legislature Hopes to Increase the State’s Mental Health Services
After more than two decades in office, Assembly Member Aileen Gunther is retiring at the end of this year. The Hudson Valley Democrat has served as chair of the Assembly’s mental health committee for 11 years. Her work advocating for mental health funding and other health care issues over the years has been informed by her experience working as a nurse and HIV counselor. City & State spoke with Gunther about her accomplishments in office and how the state can do more to help New Yorkers with mental health challenges. Read more here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Albany Stratton VA Community Mental Health Summit
September 6, 9 am - 3 pm
Mastering the Art of Recovery – From Lived Experience to Professional Impact
September 10, 12 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Advancing Health Equity: Health Access for Special Populations
September 10, 1:30 - 3 pm, Social Current
LGBTQ+ Identities 201: Going Beyond Understanding to Empowering
September 10, 2:30 - 3:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Wellbeing Wednesdays - From the Edge to Empowerment: A Conversation with Kevin Hines
September 11, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Women and Weed
September 11, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
Family Connections: Managing Suicidality and Trauma Recovery
September 12, 12 - 1:30 pm, SPCNY
Three Crucial Factors in Treating Suicide Risk Lessons Learned from the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide
September 12, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Suicide by Poisoning: Current Data, Prevention Strategies, and How You Can Help
September 12, 1 - 2:30 pm, SPCNY
AI and Behavioral Health: A Primer
September 12, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Everything You Want to Know About Suicide But Are Afraid to Ask
September 16, 2 - 3 pm, The JED Foundation
Workforce Solutions Jam | Transforming Organizational Culture: Elevating Quality of Life at Work
September 17, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Suicide Attempts by Self-Poisoning: What is the Evaluation Process in the Hospital and What Happens at Discharge?
September 17, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH/SPCNY
Increasing Accessibility of Mental Health Services for Unhoused Populations in Rural and Urban Communities
September 18, 12 - 1 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Rural Health Symposium - Binghamton, NY
September 19 - 20, NYS Association for Rural Health
Making Sense of Health Privacy Laws: HIPAA and FERPA for School-Based Health Professionals
September 19, 1 - 2:30 pm, MHTTC
Timely and Adaptive Strategies to Optimize Suicide Prevention Interventions
September 19, 1 - 3 pm, NIMH
How do we measure strong and equitable ecosystems of care?
September 19, 2 - 3 pm, Camden Coalition
Supportive Services in Housing and Child Welfare:
September 24, 12 - 1 pm, CSH
Ethical and Clinical Considerations When Delivering Person-Centered Opioid and Other Drug Treatment to Justice-Involved Individuals
September 24, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
Ask the Expert: Family-Centered Reentry Programming
September 25, 2 - 3:30 pm, CSG Justice Center
Answering the Call: Empowering Communities to Prevent Suicide Among Black Youth
September 25, 2 - 3:30 pm, SAMHSA
Integrating STI and HIV Prevention into the SBIRT Model
September 25, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
Addressing the Equity and Fairness of Assessments: How the National Guidelines Can Transform Agencies’ Communication and Use of Post-Conviction Risk and Needs Assessments
September 26, 1 - 2:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
Navigating the Behavioral Health AI Journey from Concept to Reality
September 26, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Court Navigation Programs: Providing Connections and Support Across the Legal and BH Systems
September 27, 1 - 2:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
Maternal Intensive Training: Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care & Ob/Gyn Settings
September 30, 9 am - 5 pm, Syracuse, NY - IN PERSON
Expanding Access to Crisis Care by Breaking Down Social and Technology Barriers
October 1, 12 - 1 pm, Behavioral Health Business
AI to Support Our Workforce
October 1, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Rural Telementoring UnConference 2024
October 16, 11 am - 3 pm, RTTC
Boosting Equitable Connected Healthcare Access & Adoption
October 16, 2 - 3 pm, TechTarget
Justice Center Code of Conduct Train-the-Trainer Session
October 16, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs
New York State Trauma-Informed Network & Resource Center Conference
October 23 - 25, Saratoga Springs, NYSTINRC
Liability and Risk Considerations When Adopting AI Technology
October 25, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Justice Center Code of Conduct Train-the-Trainer Session
November 13, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs
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CLMHD CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER
LGU Clinic Operators Meeting
September 10: 10 - 11:00 am
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
September 12: 11 am - 12 pm
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
September 12: 1 - 2:30 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
September 12: 3 - 4 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
September 17: 11:30 am - 1 pm
Membership Call
September 18: 9 - 10:30 am
Mental Hygiene Planning Committee Meeting
September 19: 1 - 3 pm
SAVE THE DATE
Fall 2024 Full Membership Meeting
October 23-25, Clayton, NY (Jefferson County)
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