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Focus on Behavioral Healthcare |
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To remove your name from our mail= ing list, please click h= ere.<= o:p> Questions or comments? E-mail us =
at OrionNet@coxinet.net o=
r call 405.286.1674 |
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR May 4, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Summit & Lunch - Free Alternatives to Incarceration II =
- Statewide Criminal Justice Working Summit Biltmore Hotel, OKC Planning and coordination by Oklahoma M=
ental Health Consumer Council. May 8, 1 p.m., Free Teleconference: "How to Prepare for Your First Survey,"=
; presented by The Joint Commission: -=
Finding an accreditation champion -=
Should you use a consultant? -=
Other tips and tools May 18, 6-11 p.m. OMHCC Fundraiser Quail Creek Golf & Country Club, OKC May 19, 8 a.m. check-in; 9 a.m. st=
art NAMI Oklahoma Walk for the Mind fu=
ndraiser Byers Avenue Bridge and south of Bass Pro Shops =
Outdoor World, OKC May 25, 10-11:30 a.m. Free ThinkHealth luncheon and presentat=
ion 4141 NW Expressway Practice management software demonstration by Or=
ionNet Systems LLC. Gift certificate drawings: -=
$300 Quail Springs -=
$60 Olive Garden -=
$40 Hometown Buffet or call Herminia at 405-286-1674 |
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THE COMMISSIONER |
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Terri White doesn't start=
her job until May 14, but she's wasting no time setting her priorities. In public appearances and media interviews, the new=
director of ODMHSAS has offered insight into the issues that she sees as m=
ost important Among them are =
the high number of mentally ill and substance abusers incarcerated in state=
prisons. She made the point dramatically in a hearing in Tul=
sa convened by =
U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, and U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., to=
discuss the Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, which would re=
quire health insurance plans that offer mental health coverage to treat it =
the same as other health problems in terms of co-pays and treatment limits.=
=
; Of the 24,000 inmates in Oklaho=
ma, 8,340 have "severe mental illness," White said. About 30 percent of inmates are in prison =
as a direct result of substance abuse, and 50 percent are there because of =
substance abuse-related reasons, she told the hearing. =
; R=
ead newspaper article ...=
=
Watch video of testimony ...=
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=
; What are her goals? In an April newspaper interview=
, Terri White described some of her goals for mental health and substance a=
buse in Oklahoma. =
; She said her top priority is gi=
ving more people in the state access to mental health treatment. She said this will take time, four or f=
ive years, and will depend on the Legislature's willingness to fund mental =
health and substance abuse programs. =
She said that in a recent study, mental health was at the bottom of=
the Legislature's priorities list. =
; Among the things she wants to s=
ee funded: -Programs to cut stigma associated with m=
ental heath treat=
ment -Getting young people help before t=
heir lives get out of control. =
; White said three-quarters of me=
ntal illness is apparent before age 24, making it very important to fund yo=
uth programs for identifying and treating mental illness. =
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APS reports delay APS Electronic Transactions won't be available befo=
re July, according to word from OHCA. =
; Testing was to have begun in April but has been moved to Jun=
e. |