Monthly Archives: March 2017

Important Meeting–Long Beach, March 30, 5.p.m

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City of Long Beach
Planning Commission Meeting
to Discuss a Proposed Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center

Please come and support the Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center.

These services are urgently needed to assist people with mental health disorders and reduce the long waiting times in emergency rooms.

The meeting will be
Thursday at 5 p.m., March 30, 2017
at 333 W. Ocean Blvd. 4th Floor
Long Beach, 90802

Approximately 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness in a given year. Even if someone doesn’t experience this themselves, they likely know someone dealing with depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder or suicidal tendencies. Sometimes those with a mental health condition experience a crisis and need help right away.

Because of the shortage of psychiatric mobile response teams, police and sheriff departments in Long Beach and surrounding cities have the difficult task of responding to mental health-related calls. The Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center (BHUCC or “Buck”) is a facility that will save law enforcement time in the field, will decrease the burden on hospital emergency rooms, and will help prevent unnecessary incarceration by providing medical treatment instead.

What is a BHUCC?

BHUCC will be a place where people with mental illness can go to be stabilized (instead of going to the hospital ER). It can be compared to an Urgent Care Center (where people often go for a medical emergency instead of going to the hospital ER).

The BHUCC provides:

  • Crisis stabilization service
  • Up to 12 adults and 6 adolescents (estimate about 30 clients a day)
  • Doctors, nurses, therapists, peer counselors
  • 24/7 Outpatient Program
  • Patients may stay up to 24 hours
  • Average stay is 4 to 6 hours
  • Round the clock security staff
  • Discharged patients leave the area and return to their home and community services

Learn more at http://www.starsinc.com/bhucc

 

Protect Your Mental Health Coverage

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Congress just unveiled the American Health Care Act, which ends the requirement that Medicaid cover mental health care.
It caps Medicaid funding, which in California is MediCal which will lead to deep cuts and jeopardize mental health services. MediCal provides health insurance and mental health treatment for the majority of persons with a mental illness.

And it will freeze Medicaid expansion, putting young people who are first experiencing serious mental illness at risk. Whether you believe ACA should be repealed, replaced or changed we need to make sure this requirement for Medicaid (MediCal) is not ended. Please see Mental Health Coverage on what you can do.

Tell your U.S. Representative this is unacceptable.

Call (202) 224-3121, press #2 and enter your zip code.

Use our talking points below-and add your own story, if you like.

“As a constituent, I urge you to reject American Health Care Act provisions that will harm people with mental illness:

  • Don’t reduce federal help to buy health insurance. With reductions, millions of people, including people with mental illness, won’t be able to afford mental health care.
  • Don’t accept “per capita cap” funding of Medicaid. Instead of flexibility, this would lead to deep cuts and jeopardize mental health services.
  • Don’t end enrollment of people in Medicaid expansion. This will leave people with mental health and substance use conditions without the treatment they need to stay in school, on the job and in recovery.

Don’t put millions of Americans with mental illness at risk. Cutting corners in health coverage will result in worsened conditions and costly use of emergency rooms, hospitals and jails.”

Can’t make the call? Email your Representative now.

Monday Meeting – March 20, 2017

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Please join us for our monthly meeting. This month, Ms. Monique Cando from Stars Behavioral Health will be our presenter. The meeting begins at 7:30 PM.

Ms. Cando is a National Clinical Training Specialist and her presentation will be on “Using Person-Centered Approaches to Planning and Problem Solving”. Monique earned her MA in Psychology from California State University Los Angeles where her area of study was focused on cross cultural research and ethnic minority mental health. Monique has worked directly with children and families specializing in crisis prevention and crisis management. Her presentation will be extremely valuable to families in dealing with crises and problem solving.

The Caring and Sharing Support Group will start at 6 PM and the Speaker Presentation will start at 7:30 PM at the First Lutheran Church 2900 Carson in Torrance.

Research study to help improve medications for schizophrenia

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Have schizophrenia or care for someone who does?

Help inform better medications by sharing your experiences with increased or more intense symptoms of schizophrenia that may have led to hospitalization or community-based treatment—either as a person with schizophrenia or as a caregiver.

Your responses will provide real-life insights that will help research into medications that may help symptoms of schizophrenia from getting worse.

If you qualify and complete the anonymous research survey, you will receive a $50 Visa gift card.

If you’re interested or have questions, email researchstudy@nami.org or call (888) 780-4167.

The deadline to see if you qualify for the research study is
March 13th.
So, email or call today!

What do you need to take part in the research study?

  • An email address
  • Mailing address (so you can receive your $50 Visa gift card)
  • Internet access and a smartphone, tablet or computer
  • Willingness to answer questions about your experience with increased or more intense symptoms of schizophrenia that may have led to hospitalization or community-based treatment—either as someone with schizophrenia or caring for somebody with schizophrenia

Questions? Please contact us at researchstudy@nami.org.