Putting $$$ where our mouth is on mental health

Earlier this week, House Democrats released a proposed operating budget. There are a lot of highlights – our proposal is the high-water mark on education funding, saves the safety net, and goes all in on Obamacare.

What may have been missed in all the hoopla was the important investments our budget makes in mental health care. Our budget pays for improvements to ensure the mentally ill get the care they need and make Washington a safer place.

• House Bill 1114: Introduced by Rep. Jamie Pedersen, fills the gap between the criminal justice system and mental health care providers. It ensures that violent mental health offenders get the treatment they need, instead of ending up on the streets.
 
• House Bill 1336: A Rep. Tina Orwall measure that requires school counselors and nurses to receive training on suicide prevention – giving these professionals the tools to identify early warning signs of troubled youth and prevent tragedies. 
 
• House Bill 1777: Rep. Tami Green’s bill will accelerate the implementation of critical involuntary commitment of people with pressing mental health issues. The new approach will take input from family members and friends into consideration when making a decision to involuntarily commit. We pay for this change two years ahead of schedule. 
 
• House Bill 1522: Another Green bill, HB 1522 builds a bridge between hospitals and the community for the mentally ill. It creates a step down from state hospitals – which will provide an important service to folks beginning to transition back into day-to-day life. This isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s the cost-effective approach.
 
• House Bill 1627: A Rep. Dawn Morrell bill to give county jails the tools they need to meet the growing demand for competency evaluations. Our county jails aren’t mental health care providers and, without adequate care, the mentally ill deteriorate rapidly in jail.

We’ve seen the tragedies that can occur when the mentally ill don’t get treatment they need. House Democrats believe mental health care is a critical investment – it’s just one of many priorities we will be fighting for in coming weeks.

Photo: Members of the House Health Care Committee discuss budget priorities.

Making sure the mentally ill get the care they need

This afternoon, House Democrats made it clear that mental health care is a priority. The House of Representatives took action on several bills to ensure that the mentally ill get the attention they need.

Rep. Tami Green, a Lakewood lawmaker who doubles as a mental health nurse, introduced two of the measures.

Back in 2010, the Legislature OK’d new parameters for the involuntary commitment of people with pressing mental health issues. Often after a tragedy, we hear from family members or a close friend who admits that they could see the capacity for violence – just not when or where it would occur.

The new approach takes important input from family members and friends into consideration when making a decision to commit. It also allows decision makers to take a close look at a person’s history of mental health behavior.

However, budget constraints prevented the Legislature from funding the changes until 2015. House Bill 1777 speeds up the implementation of this involuntary treatment law – funding the reforms two years ahead of schedule.

HB 1522, another Green bill, builds a bridge between hospitals and the community for the mentally ill. It creates a step down from state hospitals – which will provide an important service to folks beginning to transition back into day-to-day life. This isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s the cost-effective approach as it is most expensive to treat these patients in a hospital setting. The bill will also free-up beds in our mental health hospitals, which are becoming more in demand every day.

The House also passed HB 1627 from Rep. Dawn Morrell – a critical care nurse at Good Samaritan Puyallup. The bill combats a mental health care crisis not only in Pierce County, but across the state.

The number of requests for competency evaluations for criminal defendants is sky-rocketing. In Pierce County, these requests have increased by 80 percent since 2001. Many of these defendants actually wait longer for an evaluation than the time they would’ve served if convicted.

Our county jails aren’t mental health care providers and, without the care they need, the mentally ill deteriorate rapidly in these settings. All too often, this mistreatment ends in tragedy. HB 1627 would give counties a critical tool to meet the growing demand for competency evaluations.

These improvements will go a long way towards keeping our communities safe and Washington families strong.

Read this story in Spanish.

Photo: Reps. Green and Morrell hard at work in the House Health Care and Wellness Committee

Rep. Cody receives AMA’s highest honor

Our very own Representative Eileen Cody received the American Medical Association’s Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Public Service by a State Legislator last night in Washington, D.C.

The Davis Award is the AMA's highest honor for government service in health care. It is named after the AMA's founder and recognizes the work of elected and career officials in federal, state and municipal service whose contributions have promoted medicine and the betterment of public health.

“Rep. Cody has led efforts toward improving health care access for low income individuals and transforming mental health services in Washington state,” said AMA Board Chair Steven J. Stack, M.D. “Her dedication to public health has also earned the state national recognition for its long term health care services and support system.”

Rep. Cody was nominated by former Governor Gregoire for the award. Rep. Cody has been twice previously recognized by the Washington State Medical Association as Legislator of the Year. The WSMA noted Rep. Cody’s previous efforts to advance public health in our state.

When she's not being honored by national organizations, Rep. Cody works as a nurse at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and serves as chair of the Health Care and Wellness Committee.

In the legislature, Rep. Cody has worked for improved patient safety, mental health parity, public health services and to restore the universal purchase of vaccines.

More recently, she has led efforts to implement the federal Affordable Care Act at the state level. Largely because of her work, Washington is one of just six states ready to implement the health benefits exchange on-time in 2014.


Photo: Rep. Cody with (at left) Terry Moran of ABC News and AMA Board Chair Steven J. Stack, M.D. Photo courtesy of the American Medical Association.

Read this story in Spanish.

Rep. Mary Helen Roberts is NAMI-WA Legislator of the Year

Snohomish County lawmaker, Mary Helen Roberts, was recently presented the Legislator of the Year Award for 2011 by the National Alliance on Mental Illness - Washington at their annual conference in Ellensburg.

“This award is given in recognition of Rep. Roberts’ continuous and tireless advocacy for mental health issues and support of those living with mental illnesses in Washington state,” said Jim Bloss, President of the Snohomish County affiliate of NAMI WA, during the presentation ceremony. “We are particularly grateful for her sponsorship of the Triage Facility legislation which created a humane, cost-effective alternative to the incarceration of suspects thought to be experiencing symptoms of a mental illness.”

Here is the complete press release and more information about HB 1170.

Parents, families rally at state Capital for autism insurance coverage

Families touched by Autism from around the state filled the Capitol Rotunda yesterday to support legislation that would cover the diagnosis and treatment of the developmental disorder that has risen dramatically in prevalence in recent decades.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Brendan Williamsknows all too well the toll the disability can take on a family, with a nephew of his own diagnosed with Autism. That experience has made him a leader in the state Legislature on the issue, pushing for better services for those afflicted, as well as better research into the growing epidemic.

It’s a need that’s currently going unmet, says citizen-advocate Arzu Forough, the founder of Washington Autism Advocacy (WAA), the group that helped organize the rally. “It’s very troubling that every single zip code in the state is now represented as reporting lacking in essential basic resources such as appropriate healthcare and research based education and family stability .”

Arzu, the parent of two children with autism, founded the WAA to help other parents navigate a health care system and agency bureaucracies that still have few answers and little support for families.

It’s why they came to Olympia – to put a human face on autism, and show their support for a bill they know will assist those families struggling to meet the special needs of those with autism.

Brendan introduced HB 1210 during the 2009 legislative session, which would require equal coverage by health insurers for autism conditions, along the same lines as a law passed in 2005, which provided health coverage to those suffering from mental illness. The bill has broad and bi-partisan support from his legislative colleagues, yet failed to pass last year. Despite the setback, and despite a state budget crunch that’s reining in any new spending, he isn’t giving up, believing this to be not only a health care issue, but a civil rights issue as well.

Brendan also serves on the state Autism Task Force tasked with studying, and making recommendations to the Legislature regarding the growing incidence of autism and ways to improve the delivery and coordination of autism services in the state.

For his commitment to helping families with autism, Brendan received the Autism Society of Washington’s 2009 legislator of the year award.

For more information about the WAA, visit: http://www.washingtonautismadvocacy.org

###

Tina Orwall to address mental health disparities at summit

She vice chairs the House Human Services Committee, has already presided over the House floor, and is now one of the members of the Washington state delegation attending the National Policy Summit on the Elimination of Disparities in Mental Health Care, and this is only Rep. Tina Orwall’s first term in the Legislature.

“I am honored to be part of the delegation from our state to participate in this important summit. I look forward to identifying the actions needed to address these disparities in care,” said the Normandy Park democrat who is in New Orleans for the summit until tomorrow, June 11.

Back in January Governor Gregoire received an invitation from Eric B. Broderick, D.D.S., MPH, Acting Administrator/Assistant Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to submit an application to participate in the National Policy Summit on the Elimination of Disparities in Mental Health Care.

The purpose of this project is to convene a policy summit to design and implement policy supporting the elimination of mental health disparities with particular focus on cultural and linguistic competence.

Washington submitted a policy initiative and was one of six states selected to participate in the summit in addition to New Mexico, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland and Florida. Each state sent delegations of key leaders to participate in this three-day event. Orwall is the only legislator in Washington state’s delegation.

The proposed policy initiative, for which our state was selected, focuses on comparable access to services and comparable service outcomes for racial/ethnic minorities and other under-served groups. Its implementation will involve establishing practice guidelines and consultation protocols aimed at promoting greater access, consumer satisfaction and positive outcomes.

The Policy Summit on the Elimination of Mental Health Disparities is organized by the Center for Mental Health Service, Human Resource Research Organization, University National Technical Assistance Center, Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competency, AFYA. Funding was provided by event organizers to cover the costs of travel and lodging for up to seven members of each delegation.

Washington State Delegation:

• C. H. Hank Balderrama, DSHS Mental Health Division (Lead delegate and team recorder)
• Vazaskia Caldwell, DSHS Division of Health Care Services Representatives
• Winona Hollins-Hauge, Governors Interagency Council on Health Disparities
• Connie Mom-Chhing, Mental Health Division Ethnic Multicultural Advisory Committee (EMAC)
• Patty King, SAFE WA
• Tina Orwall, Washington State House of Representatives
• Rick Crozier, Good Samaritan Behavioral Health, Comm. Svcs. for Older Adults

Floor action continues at this hour -- Mental Health package sent to Senate

The tragic murder of Shannon Harps on New Year’s Eve, 2007, was remembered by state lawmakers today as the House passed several reforms that aim to protect mental-health services for children and reduce threats to public safety from mentally ill offenders.

“The death of Shannon Harps taught us lessons that will save lives,” said Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, who chairs the Human Services Committee. “Passing these reforms will honor her memory and make all people in Washington safer in years to come.”

After Harps was killed by a person who was seriously mentally ill and under community supervision at the time of the murder, a special working group led by King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg launched a comprehensive review of issues related to the community supervision of higher-risk mentally ill offenders. Several of the reforms passed by the House today reflect findings from the study.

House Bill 1300, by Rep. Chris Hurst (D-Enumclaw), takes aim at a key problem identified by the Satterberg working group: a systematic failure to share mental-health history information that could be crucial to guiding interactions and decisions related to mentally-ill offenders.

“Failing to share information about risks posed by mentally-ill offenders has led to catastrophe in the past and will do so again unless we act decisively now to solve the problem,” Hurst said.

Hurst’s bill addresses the information gap by giving public health officials, prosecuting and defense attorneys, jail personnel and other key individuals expanded access to mental-health treatment histories under the Involuntary Treatment Act. It also gathers confidentially statutes into a single place to end confusion about who is entitled to what information about mentally ill offenders.

House Bill 1346, by Rep. Tami Green (D-Lakewood) creates additional grounds to petition for the extended involuntary treatment of a person who is already the subject of a court order for less restrictive treatment. Green’s bill would reduce the risks of premature release from treatment while also avoiding more restrictive and expensive hospitalization. “We worked hard to strike the right balance between protecting public safety and respecting the rights of persons with mental illness,” Green said. “The strong support we’ve received shows we got the balance right.”

House Bill 1201, by Rep. Al O’Brien (D-Mountlake Terrace), would have participants of Washington’s Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender program complete an advance mental health directive prior to release from prison. An advance directive allows a person with mental illness to plan ahead for treatment they would receive, should their condition deteriorate. The bill also renames the program to the Offender Re-Entry Community Safety Program.