Blog

A new emphasis on prevention and community health partnerships brings an opportunity to improve the health of challenged neighborhoods, writes Prevention Institute Managing Director Leslie Mikkelsen, MPH, RD, in her March 2, 2015 blog post for Equity of Care.

Mikkelson describes conditions of high stress and poor nutrition in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in East Oakland, California, and expresses hope that a commitment to community partnerships espoused in The American Hospital Association’s Toolkit for Redefining the H will focus resources to support healthier lifestyles and overcome inequalities in healthcare for impacted communities.

You can read Mikkelson’s blog at Equity of Care’s website HERE

To learn more about the Prevention Institute, click HERE

Learn more about the Toolkit for Redefining the H on the AHA’s website HERE

New U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy took to Twitter this month to encourage everyone to learn how they can recognize and help friends and family members with mental illnesses.

Dr. Murthy’s tweet links to a webpage at mentalhealth.gov that begins, “Anyone can experience mental health problems. Friends and family can make all the difference in a person’s recovery process.” The page addresses the following topics:

• The value of learning about mental health issues
• How to talk about mental health
• Getting help for your friend or family member

You can read the webpage HERE

Mark Rabinowitz became an advocate and researcher for mental health resources when his son was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2011. This month he blogs for Huffington Post, listing the ten facts he believes are most important for everyone to know about schizophrenia.

He concludes with a call to increase funding to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):

“As a parent, I ask that everyone who is impacted by mental illness, including parents, siblings, teachers, colleagues, and extended family members, to email your federal congressman and senator and request they include provisions in the federal budget to allocate at least an additional $1 billion annually to the funding of brain, tele-health care, and social research to support people who are suffering from serious mental illnesses…Only with the expansion of funding will we be able to develop advanced treatments that will help those suffering from mental illness, ultimately decreasing the long-term costs of mental illness and improving the lives of our fellow Americans.”

You can read Rabinowitz’s blog post HERE.