Not Alone Radio Program, Oct. 4: Sharon Bracken, author of Eli the Bipolar Bear

Due to a last minute program switch at Not Alone, we were able to re-run one of our most requested ‘favorites’: an interview with Sharon Bracken, author of Eli the Bipolar Bear. Recently, we’ve been talking about children’s needs in order to understand emotional and behavioral issues. Listeners know that children need information in words they can understand. To that point, Eli was written because the author’s son had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and the family needed help in explaining Bipolar Disorder to him. A need many families can relate to.

Understanding EPSDT and How it Affects Health Care Services

Many Nebraska mental health care providers are asking “What is EPSDT, and how can it serve my clients?” It is not a new program; rather it is something that was established by Medicaid in about 1967. It is the child health component, known as the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment program. Quoting from the Health Resources and Services Administration, “Federal law – including statutes, regulations and guidelines – requires that Medicaid cover a very comprehensive set of benefits and services for children, different from adult benefits. Since one in three U.S. children under age six is eligible for Medicaid, EPSDT offers a very important way to ensure that young children receive appropriate health, mental health, and developmental services.”

Not Alone Radio Program, Mar. 22: Jeff Wolfsberg

Our guest this week was a very positive gentleman, Jeff Wolfsberg, one of the most influential drug educators and speakers regarding teens and substance abuse in the world today. Jeff talked to parents and professionals about “addiction-proofing” our youth.

Help Lines and Support Groups Available for Shoplifters and Gamblers

The Kim Foundation believes in promoting opportunities for more meaningful mental health care for everyone. Promoting local programs that create hope for recovery and help in developing the tools and skills needed for change has become part of our vision. Understanding that many people struggle to change harmful behaviors, we’d like to recognize two fairly new programs addressing compulsive behaviors.

‘Mental Illness’ is a Very Narrow Focus

Kathy Seacrest has been a friend to those needing mental health care for many years. She is recognized in Nebraska for her leadership in Region 2 and respected for addressing one of our country’s greatest health care flaws: allowing stigma to prejudice the course of treatment for those with mental illnesses. The Kim Foundation would like to share an article written by Ms. Seacrest and Teresa Ward, LIMPH, Director of Day Rehab and Outpatient Services for Region II Human Services and add our thanks and appreciation for her letter.

Opportunity to Change the Mental Health Care System

Diseases of the brain cover a wide spectrum, affecting infants born with effects of depression, to the elderly touched by dementias. We at The Kim Foundation are grateful when consumers and family members allow us to share their personal story, as it does bring hope and encouragement to others.

We’d like to introduce a special mom, the mother of a young adult on the autism spectrum, who also experiences other mental health disorders. As a nurse, the mother attended Nurse’s Day at the Nebraska Legislature in Lincoln on February 3, 2011. Her story motivates readers to become involved in our legislative process, and to truly address the opportunity to change the mental health care system.

Lessons Learned from Foster Care

Here is yet another story from one of the many people I have had the chance to meet through my work with The Kim Foundation whose wide range of gifts, talents, experiences, life journeys, and stories to tell inspire me. Each person we encounter enriches us as we observe their commitment, their courage, their faith, and their amazing personal resiliency. What incredible role models they have become for me!

Veteran Affairs Expands Services for Women

In 2009 and 2010 post traumatic stress disorder, hypertension, and depression were the top three diagnoses for women Veterans treated by the VA. Cindy Niemack-Brown, Women Veteran Program Manager feels these issues are high in women because females versus males have a tendency to delay their health care over others, often complicating the underlying health care issue.

“As a licensed mental health practitioner and a woman myself, I know that women pride themselves on taking care of others rather than themselves. Often, women who have been deployed have higher readjustment issues and cases of depression because it can be challenging adjusting and integrating back into the role of mother, care giver, or wife,” Niemack-Brown said. “We hear women say that when they come back after being deployed they don’t get the same kind of support or acknowledgement that men receive and they feel isolated.”

Expanding Health Care Through Information Technology Solutions

Dr. Susan Boust, Medical Director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska, and Michael Rice, Associate Director, presented the Second Annual Behavioral Health Information Technology Summit in October. Technology is changing the way we provide health care and opportunities for enhancing the provision of mental health care are astounding.

An Opportunity for Learning, Kim Foundation Attends Community Events

I recently had the privilege of representing The Kim Foundation at various October meetings and events with the goal of inspiring an opportunity for more comprehensive and more successful mental health care for families. It is always a positive when others in the community recognize that mental illness affects one in four families and becomes involved in providing the community support programs necessary for sustained recovery.