Hello Friends I have noticed that a lot of people read these mental healkth forums but not many people post to them. I just wnat you to know that whatever you do here is fine with me but, I would like some response so I know that I am reaching people in a positive. I know that much of our material here will make people uncomfortable but, think about how uncomfortable that illness makes those who suffer. We need our voices to be heard if we are ever going to bring about the changes nessesary to improve the lives of the mentall ill. Thank You All FOr Your Interest. Sincerly Bill Editorial: Funding cuts threaten mental-health care By: 10/31/2005 Email to a friend Voice your opinion Printer-friendly alloween is a time of spooky celebration, a time for children and many adults to play at being ghosts and goblins in the name of "trick or treat." But for some people, life seems like a daily horror show because of the demons wrought by mental illness. It isn't fun and it isn't funny. It is a challenge to live with for both patients and their loved ones. On rare occasions, it has fatal consequences. Advertisement The most notorious case is that of Sylvia Seegrist who, on Oct. 30, 1985, dressed in Army fatigues, entered Springfield Mall brandishing a semi-automatic rifle. Because it was the afternoon before Mischief Night, some shoppers and mall workers initially thought the 25-year-old woman was part of a Halloween prank. They did not know that she was a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of violence who had been hospitalized 13 times in 10 years and who refused to stay on medication long enough to be stabilized. No sooner did Seegrist hit the mall entrance than she opened fire, killing three people and seriously injuring six others. In June 1986 she was found guilty but mentally ill and is now serving three consecutive life sentences at Muncy State Correctional Institution in Lycoming County. It was devastating not only for her victims and their families, but for her parents who had been frustrated in their attempts to keep her on medication by the Pennsylvania Mental Health Procedures Act. It was written in 1976 and amended in 1978 with an eye towards respecting patients' civil rights. The Springfield Mall tragedy spawned scrutiny of the mental-health system in Pennsylvania and brought awareness of the need for more targeted case management. Twenty years later, mental-health services in Delaware County have, on one hand, improved with the help of new medications, psychiatric rehabilitation programs and community residences. On the other hand, they have been hampered by inadequate state and federal funds to support the influx of patients into the community that resulted from the closing of Haverford State Hospital in 1998. And how to handle mentally ill patients who are violent seems as much of a dilemma today as it was 20 years ago. That realization was brought home once again to Delaware County residents in July when Michael Rafferty stabbed to death his parents and one of their neighbors and seriously injured the neighbor's wife. Like Seegrist, the 29-year-old Upper Darby resident had a history of violence, mental illness and non-compliance with taking medication. In August he died of head and neck injuries when he jumped from his bunk into a wall at Delaware County's prison. The pros and cons of state Senate Bill 213, which would force potentially violent mental-health patients to be compliant with medication and other treatment, need to be seriously considered by lawmakers. Whether such a law would have prevented patients like Seegrist and Rafferty from committing violent acts, is difficult to say and requires further investigation. In a week-long series that began Sunday in the Daily Times, law enforcement officials, district justices, mental health care providers, mental health consumers and their loved ones talk about the successes and failures of the mental health system. It is clear that those working in the field are doing the best they can with the resources they have. However Republican lawmakers' proposed $10 billion in federal cutbacks to Medicaid and Medicare pose a serious threat to the already struggling mental health services. "All of our services are going to be severely hampered. If this goes through, shame on us," said mental-health consumer and advocate Ronald L. Berman of Ridley Township. Indeed, if the progress made in mental-health services in the last 20 years is to continue, it must not be crippled by inadequate federal and state funding. That includes sufficient funding for community residences, medication and mental health care workers. The consequences of short-changing mental-health services go beyond just the consumer. Mental illness that is not properly managed has repercussions for the patients' loved ones and for society in general. Just as in physical illness, when a productive member of society is disabled by mental illness, all taxpayers pay the price. That price goes beyond dollars when mental illness moves a person to violence. ©The Daily Times 2005 Email to a friend Voice your opinion Printer-friendly Top

Good Morning Bill! Just a quick hello, then I have to run. This last article touches real close to home...I have seen that look in my own son's eyes...very very sad...and scary! Still no word fom my son...however, I do know he is eating! Here in Oregon, when you apply for food stamps you get a little plastic card, called the Oregon Trail Card. When Jeff took off, he left his wallet, id, food stamp card etc behind...walked out with only the clothes on his back. Every six months you have to reapply for benefits...when Jeff's notice to re-apply came, I filled it out and sent it back. (I have power of attorney for both my boys so am able to do this) I then received the activation notice about the 2nd week in October...This past Friday, I called the food stamp hot line to see if the card had been funded...and it was not a valid card!!! This is good news because...sometime between the 5th of October and the 28th of October, he must have filed for a lost card and received a new one....! This means he has enought wits about him to feed himself! At least I know he is eating! Now I have to work on warm and dry! Off the subject abit, but I was listening to NPR last night and they were talking about different laws in PA and mentioned one that they are trying to over-turn, regarding the fact that a woman MUST have permission from her HUSBAND to obtain an abortion! Sometimes I think we are still really living in the dark ages! Gotta go... Julia

PS I really like your new picture! Julia

Hi Julia I am so happy to hear that you at least know your son is doing allright. Of course I know that a little more information would be nice but at least you know he is eating. Did you happen to read my post about the advance directives for the mentally ill. This could really help you keep better tabs on your son if this is available in Oregon. I think it is because Oregon, believe it or not, is one of the states that does the best job of looking after the needs of it's mentally ill citizens. I have a bunch of NAMI updates to post also. There may be some new information that you will help you there too. I hope so. As far as Pa. and abortion rights, this whole state is in the dark ages. You see, Pa. is a commonwealth state and there is little separation of rights for men and women once they are married. One of the reasons this law was passed in the first place was so the husband could have rights regarding paternity. However, this didn't work very well because the husband is not entitled to any DNA or paternity testing unless the wife signs a release allowing him to obtain this information. Also, in this state, if a father gets behind in child support, the first thing the state does before locking him up, is take his drivers license. I guess they figure if they take the fathers drivers license it will some how be easier for him to make a living and pay his child support, even if he doesn't know for sure if it is his child. Thats why I concentrate on mental health. There seems to be such a lack of it in this state. LOL Take care My Friend

Hello Julia Remember when I told you about Oregon always being on the leading edge of things? Well here is another example of that. I just recieved this in another newsfeed. I think this is a great program that will in time really improve the care that veterans get in the VA system. I wish every state would follow Oregon's example As chief medical information officer, Marcum and other architects of the system are keenly focused on the security and workflow challenges OHSU clinics will face. OHSU's general internal medicine clinic became the first to implement Epic's system Oct. 4, and patients of that clinic will be able to access their own records by the first of the year, said Marcum, chief medical information officer at OHSU. The project is set to end in December 2007. OHSU's new system promises to deliver patient safety, quality and outcome improvements in short order, but hard financial returns for this major investment will be realized more slowly. Counting only concrete financial savings, OHSU officials think the institute will break even on the investment after 10 years. Most savings will come from transcription costs -- physicians have historically recorded notes from patient encounters orally, and someone else was paid to transcribe the recording. Besides offering patients access to health records, the rollout to roughly 80 OHSU clinics represents an overhaul of how providers deliver and document care for patients. Computer terminals will now be in each exam room, for example. The system will also alter the makeup of the medical-record work force, demanding highly skilled information technology professionals who understand clinical processes in place of the file clerks who have historically moved paper records by hand. Productivity will take a 25 percent to 50 percent hit during the first six weeks of each launch, OHSU officials report. "This is not for the faint of heart," said John Kenagy, chief information officer at OHSU. Under the new system, patient notes will be entered by the physician directly into the record. The cost -- which could have been spent on any number of other technological investments -- also had to be weighed. "Part of this was a competitive strategy, and part of it was that this is the 21st century, and we should not be practicing medicine with tools developed in the 1920s," Kenagy said. Growth in OHSU's outpatient services, where most patient care is delivered, also fueled the decision. OHSU has clinics in Portland and Eugene. The Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center completed its own comprehensive electronic health record rollout in 2000, and earlier this year rolled out personal health record access for patients. Many of the productivity gains from the VA's electronic system occurred at its outpatient clinics, said Dr. David Douglas, associate director for information at the Portland VA Medical Center. Workload at the VA's three remote clinics increased from 5 percent to 17 percent each year since the system was introduced, which could not have happened without the new system, Douglas said. "It connects all the clinics to the mothership, and eliminates the need to shuffle charts back and forth, or extra copies in remote clinics," Douglas said. At OHSU, however, inpatient medical records are still paper-based, although the institute this week kicks off its discussion around the replacement of the hospital's 20-year-old Siemens system, Kenagy said. Employing a single system -- in place of a fusion of two or more different brands of electronic medical records -- offers advantages that OHSU should consider, said Douglas. Connecting separate systems, and creating seamless appearance and data flow for users, can be a hefty technological challenge, he said. Partly because of high cost and the lack of financial incentives, the United States lags other developed nations in the adoption of electronic health records. Only about 18 percent of U.S. physicians have electronic health records systems, according to estimates by Massachusetts-based Forrester Research. OHSU will join Kaiser Permanente, which has already implemented inpatient and outpatient Epic electronic medical records. Legacy Salmon Creek also opened its doors with an electronic health record system. Rate this story Low High Current rating: 2 by 1 users • View Top Rated stories Print this Email this Blog this MORE FROM PORTLAND Bend health insurer has an Oregon deal • Bend health insurer has an Oregon deal• Bar remains the same• Another headache: records security • Bush wants $7.1 B to fight bird flu • WP: Bush looks to rally GOP • Court-martial for GI killings? • Roadside bombs deadliest threat • Steelers beat Ravens in final minutes • MSNBC-TV Question of the Day • Howard Dean plays 'Hardball' • Imus: McCain on Alito • Video blog: Inside a hurricane • Predicting a tough fight on Alito advertisement