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On our website
Updated state and national news on ncmentalhope.org.
Closures could crowd prisons - Asheville Citizen-Times
Perdue's cuts spook some child advocates - Rocky Mountain Telgram
AMHC salary-job revamp due in April - Elizabeth City Daily Advance
Under the National News Tab:
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Examines State Budget Developments
How Mr. Ayers And Mr. Lopez Became Friends - CBS 60 Minutes
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Associated Press says numbers of citizens
with mental illness placed in nursing homes
is on the rise
John
Grohol, Psy.D., founder of PsychCentral.com, has a point in his
comments on an Associated Press article published today entitled,
"Mentally ill a threat in nursing homes."
 Grohol
states: "In yet another example of sensationalism posing as legitimate
journalism, the Associated Press's Carla K. Johnson penned an article
over the weekend calling people with mental illness who live in nursing
homes a 'threat.' "
Both the AP article and Grohol's reponse can be read at ncmentalhope.org.
And while the AP article is heavy on the sensationalism of violent episodes without the balance of studies that show
those with mental illness are no more violent that most people, it does
focus public attention on the real issue: whether adult care homes
represent a reasonable
placement for someone with a mental illness?
We would have to answer
no. Unfortunately, the AP statistics show that such placements in our
state are on the rise. Indeed, the AP study shows our state with one of the highest rates of increase (50-75%).
Certainly
there has been no shortage of stories over the past couple of years
involving shabby nursing homes or situations that never should have
been allowed to exist. One such story that
North Carolina Mental Hope wrote on last summer was the case involving Tony Zichi in Alamance County.
While
manpower presently limits what North Carolina Mental Hope can do other
than help keep the issue in the public eye, we hope the state's media
will try to make room on an already overloaded plate for an issue that
so affects two of society's most vulnerable segments. Many papers ran
the wire story today. We hope they have an opportunity to take a closer
look.
And we hope that HHS Secretary Cansler can make room on
his already overcrowded plate as well to work for changes in Adult Care
Homes that lead to the health and safety of all its residents.
David Cornwell
Executive Director
North Carolina Mental Hope
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