Advocate Support Blog

Free Books in Baltimore

Please see the following link for information on how to get free books in Baltimore.  Pass info on to clients...

http://www.bookthing.org/

ValueOptions® To Manage Maryland’s Public Mental Health System

Value Options, Inc. of Norfolk, Virginia has been awarded a five year, $51.6 million dollar contract to serve as the Administrative Services Organization (ASO) for Maryland’s Public Mental Health System.

Beginning September 1, 2009 ValueOptions®, will take over administration of Maryland’s Public Mental Health System from MAPS-MD, the current administrator.

The Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA) and ValueOptions® are working together to ensure a smooth transition in September. Six provider meetings were held in June and additional meetings will be held for providers throughout the summer, but additional dates are not currently available on MHA’s web site.

More information for providers, including FAQ’s, Forums, MHA’s notice, and a PowerPoint presentation, can be found HERE.

Depression

To learn more about depression and bipolar, check out the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.

If you need immediate help or if you are having thoughts of death or suicide, call
1-800-273-TALK or if you need immediate assistance call 911
or go to a hospital emergency room.

iTunes U

If you have access to iTunes, which you can get for FREE, you have access to a wealth of information which is produced on various topics by colleges and universities. iTunes U is a growing library of video lectures and demonstrations, most of which are completely FREE.

Most of the videos I have watched seem to have been designed as part of a curriculum and the breadth of the material is almost as vast as a semester course list.

To find topics of interest, you can access specific topics, like mental health, anxiety, depression, etc., by conducting a "Power Search" and then entering the topic that interests you.

Below is an introduction to iTunes U from Apple. Feel free to contact me if you need any assistance, and as always, I appreciate any experiences or comments you have.

- Jim Crosson

NAMI's Fourth Annual "Unmasking Mental Illness" Gala

NAMI has announced their Fourth Annual "Unmasking Mental Illness" Gala which will be held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 7:30 PM.

According to NAMI, "The evening will begin with a cocktail reception, followed by a seated dinner and the presentation of the Mind of America Scientific Research Award to a scientist whose efforts have resulted in ground-breaking research that has significantly contributed to a better understanding and treatment of mental illness. The evening will be attended by members of Congress, political leaders, and an honor roll of scientists and researchers leading the effort to understand, treat and prevent mental illness. The event will spotlight NAMI’s commitment to promoting research for treatment and, eventually, a cure for mental illness."

Click HERE to read NAMI's announcement. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

New CPRP Eligibility Criteria

The US Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association has made changes to eligibility criteria for sitting for the CPRP exam which went into effect July 15, 2008.

At their meeting on September 30, 2007 the Certification Commission for Psychiatric Rehabilitation finalized a review of the CPRP Examination Eligibility Criteria. As a result of that review a number of changes were made to requirements for the CPRP Examination Application. Changes are effective with the March 2009 Examinations and will impact all new applications for 2009 administrations.
 
The Training Requirement was reduced from 60 contact hours to 45.

The list of “Related Mental Health Degrees” has been eliminated and replaced with the following rules:
1. An Associates’ or higher academic degree in Psychiatric Rehabilitation earned in any year will meet the Education Requirement AND the Training Requirement.
2. A post-secondary Diploma or Certificate earned in any year from an accredited Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program will meet the Education Requirement AND the Training Requirement.
3. A Degree, Diploma or Certificate in any other discipline will require 45 contact hours of training in psychiatric rehabilitation.

An academic course taken for an equivalent of 3 or more semester credit-hours, earned at any time, is worth 45 contact hours and will satisfy the Training Requirement.

Training's taken outside of an academic program must be attended within the three years immediately preceding the application deadline for the requested examination.

To view the revised requirements, click here.

Technology & Treatment

I have just come off another week long technology binge. I have purchased books, watched videos, searched the web and spent more hours than I would like to admit playing with code related to my never ending search for an EMR (electronic medical record) solution.

There are many that exist, but I haven't found anything that meets my company's needs even if money were no object.

Anyway, I finally turned my attention back to Advocate Support Blog this evening and found a New York Times article from July 15, 2008, "Take Two Prozac and E-Mail Me in the Morning", by Richard Friedman, M.D.

In this article, Dr. Friedman, a psychiatrist, describes some of his attempts to make therapeutic use of e-mail.

It's quite an interesting article and contains some good guidelines and suggestions for both providers and consumers which may help you to avoid some of the pitfalls encountered by Dr. Friedman, and I suspect many others.

If you have story about technology and treatment, good or bad, I'd love to hear it.

- Jim

Angie's List Review

I had heard about Angie's List and thought it was a neat concept, but I am overwhelmed with advertising, and never got around to checking it out.

Last week I heard something about Angie's List which peaked my interest. I heard that they were now rating mental health providers.

Well, I finally got around to checking it out yesterday, and this is what I found.

First, a little background on Angie's List:
Angie's List is a word-of-mouth network for consumers. It started out as a growing collection of homeowners' real-life experiences with local service companies.

As far as I can tell, Angie's List has been around since 1995 and they claim to have more than 650,00 members nationwide.

What I Found:
Angie's List has expanded and now includes reviews for Physicians (including Psychiatrists and Psychologists), Medical Facilities (Adult Daycare, Assisted Living, Hospitals, etc.), Medical Insurance Providers, and Medical Retailers (Pharmacies, Optical & Dentures), among many other.

Angie's List is a subscription based service, which relies on member experiences and reviews. Companies aren't able to advertise, which is their way of keeping it honest.

The down side is that it isn't cheap. A monthly subscription is $16.95, 1 Year is $63.00, 2 Years $105.00. I'll spare you the rest. Check their website for all their prices. NOTE: the prices I listed were based on my area, Baltimore, the prices in your area may be different.

I didn't purchase a subscription, so I can't be sure, but based on my experience and limited knowledge of Sociology, people are more likely to take action when they are unsatisfied, upset, or downright mad. I hope that Angie's List isn't just a bunch of bad reviews from disgruntled customers. I doubt this is the case, because they have had many positive reviews from reputable magazines.

Conclusion:
Kudos to Angie's List for creating a useful tool for consumers. I am very glad that they have expanded into health care and included mental health services and eldercare. Although the subscription would be a real commitment for me, I am sure that if a member of my family needed specialty health services, the price would seem negligible to me. I hope their membership grows, bad providers weeded out and good providers rewarded. It's Democracy in action!

Please let me know about your experiences with Angie's List.

SAMHSA National Conference

In a joint effort to support returning veterans, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), with the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs, is holding a national conference and policy academy built around enhancing mental health and substance abuse services for veterans and their families.

While the conference registration is closed because of overwhelming interest, SAMHSA offers a variety of support resources available for returning veterans and their families. Be sure to check out the latest materials offered, which can be ordered, free of charge, or downloaded and printed.

Click HERE for Veteran Resources from SAMHSA.

House Passes Increases for Veterans

Today the House passed a bill (HR 6599), which proposes increases to the Veterans Health Administration and allocates $3.8 billion for specialty mental health care, $584 million for substance abuse programs, and $130 million for the homeless grants and per diem program for veterans.

NAMI reports, "A separate bill funding the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) appropriates an additional $75 million at HUD for rent subsidies, i.e. the housing side of this joint program". "With House action on the VA spending bill, Congress has now adjourned for its summer recess and will not return to Washington until the week of September 8. In September, these will be efforts to complete action on HR 6599 before FY 2009 begins on October 1. However, the other FY 2009 discretionary spending bills - including those covering mental illness research, services and housing programs are unlikely to be passed before October 1. As a result these other programs are expected to be funded after October 1 at current FY 2008 levels - perhaps through March of 2009."

A summary of HR 6599 can be found here.