Clip files / Local news from the states
This column features selected short items about state health care policy.
Bills aimed at easing post-Katrina mental health crisis
NEW ORLEANS A legislative package unveiled by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is designed to strengthen mental health services in greater New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina by opening crisis centers and helping physicians treat people in the grips of a severe mental illness. New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast devastated by the August 2005 hurricane have struggled with a shortage of mental health services at a time when mental illnesses are reported to be on the rise.
Mr. Jindal said his proposed legislation, coupled with his budget plan for more than $80 million in new state funding for mental health services, should help reduce violent crime, homelessness and psychiatric hospitalizations. "Our goal is not just to repair the damage done from Katrina. Our goal here is to improve a safety net that wasn't even adequate before Katrina," Mr. Jindal said.
One of the Jindal-sponsored bills is aimed at helping health officials and families obtain involuntary outpatient treatment for potentially violent people with behavioral illnesses. Another Jindal-sponsored measure would create regional crisis receiving centers for the mentally ill. The centers would provide care that often falls to overburdened hospital emergency departments, the administration says. A third bill, designed to ease shortages of mental health professionals in parts of Louisiana, would allow psychiatrists to examine patients and recommend commitment from other locations using video conferencing technology. Exams for commitment currently must be done in person. Mr. Jindal also backed a bill that calls for expanding the state's network of local human services districts and sets standards for them to provide behavioral health care and developmental disability services.
Associated Press, 3/25/08
Massachusetts' readiness for bioterror attack is assailed
BOSTONThe Massachusetts Department of Public Health's preparations for a bioterrorism attack were faulted by the state auditor, who found that the department's administrators did not have sufficient plans in place and had even lost track of one of 10 medical trailers it purchased to treat victims. 'Without proper oversight, the Department of Public Health cannot provide assurance that the Commonwealth would respond effectively to a bioterrorism emergency,' said the report by state auditor A. Joseph DeNucci.
In the report, state Mr. DeNucci questioned the usefulness of the state's 10 mass-casualty incident trailers. The trailers, designed to provide emergency medical services, are supposed to be stationed in five regions across the state. The missing trailer was not at the primary or secondary location listed in planning documents and, once it was found, the keys were not readily available, the auditors found.
The Department of Public Health responded that the incident involving the missing trailer took place three years ago. It said organizational shortcomings identified in the report have since been fixed.
The audit examined about $28 million in homeland security grants awarded to Massachusetts by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from July 2004 to December 2005.
Boston Globe, 3/25/08
Bills aimed at easing post-Katrina mental health crisisYou have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content