Prevention Approaches for Reno, Nevada Mental Health A common statement when a person is facing mental or physical health problems in Reno, NV is, “Well if it gets real bad I will go to CA”. According to the San Francisco Chronicle this isn’t just a saying but rather a reality; mental patients are being sent via Greyhound bus across state lines (Coté 2013). The reason medical and mental health professional are doing this? Because, San Francisco is more liberal and will actually foot the bill for those who need treatment (Coté 2013). Nevada is pretty slow to change there are still people who are making the argument that President Obama is a Muslim terrorist and that he was born in Kenya, never mind that no matter what you believe the opinion is mute. That Nevadans don’t take care of their mentally ill isn’t much of a surprise as you drive by the mental institution two things become apparent all of the housing is boarded up and all of the mentally ill that used to live in the boarded up housing sit across the street from the hospital right next to the Truckee river where not that long ago a homeless man trying to climb a tree to escape the flooding fell into the river and drowned (NECN 2012). It isn’t all Reno’s fault the recession has hit the city pretty hard and not just drug addicts and mentally ill are homeless in fact many of them are just downsized out of work families that have nowhere to go and no money to get there. At the same time someone should speak up for the mentally ill who have no voice and are stigmatized by the very factor that they are mentally ill according to the Surgeon General’s report A Report of the Surgeon General, Chapter 1. After all the stress placed on our citizens due to the recession which to most citizens in Reno looks a lot more like a real depression would drive most people to the sick bed it is no surprise that more and more people could come unhinged. Primary preventions are designed to be proactive and aimed primarily at high-risk groups not yet affected (Albee & Ryan-Finn 1993). According to information found by Albee and Ryan-Finn (1993) strongly associates poverty with ill health and poor mental health. According to the Surgeon Generals report A Report of the Surgeon General, Overview of Prevention correlation and causation and consequences need to be understood to produce both plans for prevention but also to help develop the plan for prevention. The correlation is of course that the continued disenfranchisement of the mentally ill has finally created a consequence where the state of California may in all likelihood sue an already financially compromised Reno (Coté 2013). The causation is harder to decipher it is a combination of several factors from not recognizing preventive steps to out of date understanding about mental health and the correlation with poverty. Many still believe that the mentally ill are sliding down a ladder of financial standing, not that there was no ladder to climb in the first place (Coté 2013). Few realize that there are preventive steps that can be taken to inoculate Reno, NV from mental illness in the first place. According to Albee & Ryan-Finn (1993) an overt challenge to authority can be a successful form of prevention of the continued treatment of Reno’s mentally ill. These mentally ill are our problem, they are members of our society, and deserve help in our hospitals, and by professionals that we have deemed capable of taking care of our frail and sick society. We should empower our professionals both with necessary funding and willingness to protest against the city and state council and their continued handicapping of resources that are supposed to protect our mentally ill but instead is frozen in road work, train trenches no one wanted, and harassing casinos and patrons that attend them. By joining together as citizens of Reno, Nevada and writing demands for fundamental changes to mental healthcare, professionally recognized therapies of our mentally ill, and accountability for those proverbially kidnappings of our citizens. Our citizens have been sent off to another city for clandestine treatment not overseen by those who did their mental health assessments or families that want them to get much needed care. We can empower our citizens to know that we do care for them and do not think of them as a shameful secret swept under the waves of the Truckee River. References Albee, G. W., & Ryan-Finn, K. D. (1993). An overview of primary prevention. Journal of Counseling & Development, 72(2), 115–123. Coté, J. (August 20. 2013) Nevada Could Face Suit for dumping patients in Calif. San Francisco Chronicle, sfgate/bayarea/article/Nevada-could-face-suit-for-dumping-patients-in-4745151.php NECN (December 14, 2012) Truckee Victim identified as Homeless Man; necn/12/14/12/Truckee-River-victim-identified-as-homel/landing_nation.html?&apID=85e3ed0fa6e2416a9c94f2415395cfcb Surgeon General (DU) A Report of the Surgeon General, Chapter 1 profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/NNBBHV.pdf Surgeon General (DU) A Report of the Surgeon General, Overview of Prevention (Page 62-64) profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/NNBBHX.pdf
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 02:07:01 +0000
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