March 5, 2007 - Vol 1, Issue 9
Update on Geriatric Mental Health Advocacy
Michael, Kim, and our lobbyists met with the following public officials on Monday to advocate for an additional $3 million for geriatric mental health services:
- Kristen Proud, Director of Health and Human Services in the Governor’s Office
- Michael Seereiter, Program Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Governor’s Office,
- Senator Martin Golden,
- Assemblymember Steven Englebright,
- Assemblymember Peter Rivera,
- Mark Kissinger, Director of the Office of Long Term Care Services and Programs in the Dept of Health, and
- Richard Mereday, Principal Analyst for the Senate Finance Committee
Our message was certainly heard but we must keep the pressure on!
AGAIN, HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
1. Meet with Your Local Legislators
In order for more attention to be paid to geriatric mental health, we need lots of contact with legislators over the next couple of weeks. That is why we need you to meet with your local legislator(s) to talk about the importance of more funding for geriatric mental health services. We’ll even provide you with talking points and material to give him or her.
If you schedule a meeting and need material, let us know.
Or, if you meet with your local legislator(s), please let us know.
2. Submit Letter to the Editors
We need you to send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper(s) about the importance of increased funding for geriatric mental health services. You can download a sample by clicking here. Or you can feel free to write your own.
If you plan to submit a letter, please let us know.
3. Share Stories of Older Adults with Mental Disorders
Do you know older adults with mental disorders who are willing to tell or have their story told?
We are working with a public relations firm to generate media coverage about older adults with mental health problems.
Stories could include the need for, or the beneficial impact of, mental health services. For example:
- Community support services and how it averted placement in a nursing home or adult home
- Family support e.g. respite, psycho- education, counseling
- Mobile crisis and/or treatment services
- Treatment services in home and community settings such as senior centers and NORCs
- Integrated treatment for those with co- occurring substance abuse and mental disorders
- Culturally competent services for minority populations
- Screening, assessment, and/or treatment initiatives
- Integrated mental health and health services in primary health care, home health, or day programs such as psychiatric rehabilitation centers or adult medical day care
- Legal advocacy to assist older adults get benefits and services they need to remain in the community
- And more
If you have stories to share, please let us know.
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GMHA Upcoming Events
March 22, 2007 – Best Practices: Building a Workforce of Older Adults hosted by the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York and the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging and Longevity of Hunter College. Presenters are:
- Claire Haaga Altman, Executive Director, ReServe, Inc.,
- Janice Jones, Board Chair, Mental Health Empowerment Project
- Gajtana Simonovski, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of the Community Service Society
The time is 3:00 - 5:00PM at the Hunter College School of Social Work – Auditorium, 129 East 79th Street, NYC, (Between Lexington and Park Avenues). Please make a registration by emailing yhsin@mhaofnyc.org or calling (212) 614-6356. The event is free but pre-registration is required. Please click here for additional planned presentations.
May 31, 2007 - Save the Date: 1st Annual Geriatric Mental Health Alliance Conference. Please join fellow Alliance members from around the state for our first annual conference entitled “Geriatric Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities Across the Horizon” on May 31, 2007 from 10:00-4:00pm at the Hotel Pennsylvania. Steve Bartels, MD, MS, Professor of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School, will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Bartels served as a consultant to the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health's Subcommittee on Older Adults, and he is a past president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. More details to follow.
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Upcoming Events
March 14, 2007 - MHANYS’ Legislative Conference and Lobby Day: MHANYS’ Legislative Conference will be held from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on March 14th in The Well (1st floor) of the Legislative Office Building (adjacent to the New York State Capitol) in Albany. Participants are strongly encouraged to set up meetings with their elected representatives for the afternoon.
For more information, click here to view the flyer.
March 12 and 19, 2007 – Identifying and Managing Geriatric Mental Health Issues. A two evening event on geriatric mental health hosted by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and NAMI-NYC Metro at 6:00pm - 8:00pm at 42 West 44th Street.
Please click here to view the flyer for more information.
March 19, 2007 – Managing Challenging Behaviors in Dementia hosted by The Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Aging and Dementia Research Center of the Silberstein Institute with Nationally Acclaimed Dementia Expert and Trainer, Teepa Snow from 10am-4pm at NYU Medical Center. For more information, please view the flyer and registration.
March 21, 2007 – Geriatric Mental Health Conference: Overcoming the Obstacles Through Advocacy, Practice and Research sponsored by the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service Alumni Association and others. The keynote is Michael Friedman. The conference will be at the Fordham University School of Law from 9:00am- 4:00pm. For more information, please view the announcement.
April 18, 2007 – Save the Date: Conference on Advanced Dementia The Schervier Center for Research in Geriatric Care is sponsoring a conference entitled “Advanced Dementia as a Terminal Illness: Translating Theory into Everyday Practice” on April 18, 2007. The keynote speaker is Ladislav Volicer, an expert in dementia care. Please click here for more information.
June 19th and 20th - Save the Date: The 11th Annual “Aging Concerns Unite Us” Conference at the Albany Crowne Plaza, State and Lodge Street, Albany, NY. For more information, please email gabe@nysaaaa.org or visit the NYSAAAA website.
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NYS Budget Calls for Family Caregiving Council
The NYS Executive Budget calls for the establishment of a Family Caregiving Council to be lead by the NYS Office for the Aging. The Council will be made up of all types of caregivers, including family caregivers of older adults, older family members caring for adult children with disabilities, including psychiatric disabilities, and grandparents raising grandchildren. The Council will be charged with gathering information on family caregiving, evaluating the impact of current programs, and developing recommendations to meet needs.
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NCOA/ASA National Conference
Mental Health and Aging Track at NCOA/ASA Conference
At the 2007 Annual Conference of the American Society on Aging (ASA) and the National Council on the Aging (NCOA), which will be held March 7-10 in Chicago, there will be four special tracks devoted to mental health, dementia, and substance abuse developed by the ASA Mental Health and Aging Network (MHAN), NCOA, and the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging:
- Managing Challenging Behaviors: A Clinical Perspective
- Mental Health and Aging Coalitions: Effective Approaches and Innovative Practices
- Hoping for the Best, Planning for the Worst: Emergency Planning for Elders
- Evidence-Based Treatment and Interventions for Late Life Mental Health Disorders
Michael Friedman, Alliance Chair, will be presenting as part of the Mental Health and Aging Coalitions track at a workshop called Mental Health and Aging Coalitions: Making a Difference at the State and Local Level.
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Federal News
Congress Finalizes FY 2007 Appropriations The 110th Congress has completed action on fiscal year 2007 appropriations. Most government programs are funded at their FY 2006 amounts including SAMHSA’s programs. As for OAA spending, there is a combined increase of $20 million for home- delivered and congregate meals (a 3.5 percent increase over FY 2006) and an adjustment of $51 million for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) to cover an expected increase in the federal minimum wage.
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President’s FY 2008 Budget Would Cut Human Services
Adapted from the Bazelon Center Mental Health Policy Reporter
Volume VI, No. 1, February 22, 2007
The President’s $29-trillion spending plan for fiscal year 2008, starting October 1, 2007, emphasizes funding for defense and homeland security and would, if enacted, restrict funding of human services programs, including Medicaid and mental health programs. The President aims to balance the federal budget by fiscal year 2012 and achieves this by setting forth a range of funding cuts and freezes to myriad domestic discretionary programs. The President’s FY 08 budget proposal is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
Mental Health Services
The Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is facing a huge $76-million cut in its Program of Regional and National Significance (PRNS). PRNS funds are used for programs that move the field forward, build new service capacity and translate research into practice at the community level. As we have stated previously the PRNS program for seniors mental health is slated for elimination.
Beyond these steep cuts in PRNS, the budget would freeze funding for core CMHS programs at fiscal 2007 levels. The mental health block grant would be level funded at $428 million.
Medicaid
The President’s budget repeats his earlier proposals to reduce Medicaid spending on certain vital services (see the Bazelon Center’s August 2005 Policy Reporter). Most services provided by public mental health systems are funded under Medicaid’s Rehabilitation or Targeted Case Management category. The President’s budget would cut approximately $25 billion over five years through a combination of legislative and regulatory proposals.
Among the legislative proposals is reducing the federal contribution toward the cost of targeted case management for Medicaid recipients, including those with serious mental disorders. This is accomplished by shifting payment for case management from the service-matching rate to the administrative rate (50 percent).
This would save the federal government $200 million in fiscal year 2008 and $1.2 billion over five years. But it would increase state costs and/or reduce services for Medicaid beneficiaries. Medicaid targeted case managers serve as a vital link for beneficiaries receiving medical, social, educational, housing and other necessary services.
The President’s budget also announces a plan to restrict allowable services under the rehabilitation services category, to save the federal government $230 million in fiscal year 2008 and $2.3 billion over five years. Again, states will either be forced to pay more to cover these services or individuals will be left without access to care.
Rehabilitative services are the critical services that enable people with mental illnesses including older adults to live in the community. They include skills training, illness self-management, peer services, intensive in-home services, and other interventions that promote recovery.
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In the News
Prolong Mental Health by Participation
Psych Central News Editor
Tuesday, Feb, 27, 2007
Reviewed by: John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
Tuesday, Feb, 27, 2007
Maintaining mental health during the aging process is seen by many as the holy grail of health and well-being. New research finds that participation in community groups and organizations can maintain mental health even after physical health has deteriorated.
In particular, ongoing members of religious organizations showed higher levels of personal growth than those who were not. The research also found lesser hikes in depressive symptoms among men steadily involved in recreational associations, such as hobby or discussion groups.
Study authors, Emily Greenfield and Nadine Marks of the University of Wisconsin-Madison used survey data to track changes in respondents’ physical, psychological, and social functioning over a five-year period. Thus, they were able to observe whether or not those who developed physical impairments also experienced similar declines in mental health.
The research is published in the latest issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences (Vol. 62B, No. 1).
This study is noteworthy because it shows community participation — and the subsequent building of psychosocial resources — to be especially important in the face of aging-related challenges.
Support for the project was provided by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging.
Source: The Gerontological Society of America
Link to abstract is below under ‘Articles on Geriatric Mental Health’.
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Articles on Geriatric Mental Health
Crisis in Access to Care: Geriatric Psychiatry Services Unobtainable at Any Price by Robert Abrams, MD and Robert Young, MD
Continuous Participation in Voluntary Groups as a Protective Factor for the Psychological Well-Being of Adults Who Develop Functional Limitations: Evidence From the National Survey of Families and Households by Emily A. Greenfield and Nadine F. Marks
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Reports
Medicaid In Depth: A Special Research Series: The Elderly (February 2007) by the Empire Center for New York State Policy
The Rising Burden of Health Spending on Seniors (February 2007) by the National Center for Policy Analysis
Beyond Cash and Counseling: The Second Generation of Individual Budget-based Long Term Care Programs for the Elderly: A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation highlights 10 states that are using an individual budget option to provide home and community-based services to Medicaid beneficiaries.
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