Helping to build roads to recovery

From Gerald Butler:

Drug Mixes


      
I am both happy and dismayed by the responses to my last letter regarding
this issue. I am dismayed because dangerous drug mixes seem to be a
larger concern than I originally thought. I am glad because of the amount
of valuable info that was sent in response. I have chosen these 2 as
I feel these are the most informative.


      
Leslie Sladek of NAMI writes: “Consumers should always inform both
medical and psychiatric doctors of
all medications they are taking. We must advocate for
ourselves and know what we are taking, why we are taking it, and the
risks/side effects that may occur”. Leslie offers two websites. www.drugdigest.org and www.drugstore.com


Kathleen Tynes
sent a web site that allows consumers to enter names of their medication
to check for potentially dangerous side effects. www.consumermedsaftey.org/. You may want to file these addresses
and/or pass them on to others. The fact that these two ladies are Peer
Supporters speaks less to a bias and more to the fact that Peers Specialists
are encouraged to stay updated on data regarding our illness.    


Martin
Luther King Day


. As the Nation
celebrates Martin Luther King Day and election of its first Black President
a few things come to mind.  I have no doubt that were he alive
today Martin would be fighting for the rights of individuals in the
mental health system. The basic battles being fought today in this arena
are similar to the battles that were fought back in the 60’s for the
basic rights, respect and dignity due all humanity. Once a person is
diagnosed or labeled with an illness, they begin to carry the same burden
that Black folks had to carry prior to the passage of civil rights laws.


   
Obama means change and there is no reason why change should not involve
those of us in recovery.  Stigma plays a huge role in how we are
treated. However, when the band plays such community events as ‘Arise
Detroit’s Neighborhoods Day’ we often find communities willing to
change their perceptions, provided someone tell them the truth. 
We do our best to educate them about what happens in recovery when folks
are supported correctly.


   
Detroit Wayne County CMH, Michigan Department of Community Health, MDCH
Boards, Northern Lakes and too many others too mention, supported the
band and gave us hope. The way we chose to thank them is by passing
that same hope and support on to others, so we designed CHARGE. This
is not an arts program, nor do we do treatment. We simply provide a
safe, recovery centered environment and the tools for creative folks
to be who they are.

The Obama Agenda: Disabilities

From whitehouse.gov:

...And fourth, support independent, community-based living
for Americans with disabilities by enforcing the Community Choice Act,
which would allow Americans with significant disabilities the choice of
living in their community rather than having to live in a nursing home
or other institution, creating a voluntary, budget-neutral national
insurance program to help adults who have or develop functional
disabilities to remain independent and in their communities, and
streamline the Social Security approval process ....

For Much More...

what makes people unhappy ?

From A Long Term Care Blog:

....isn't it obvious ( and ridiculously simple)?

the
largest number of complaints to her office or seven local long-term
care ombudsmen focused on issues like lack of choices in daily
activities, visiting restrictions placed on family members or friends,
residents not being allowed to leave the facility, or lack of choice of
medical care or treatment options.

For More....

Nursing homes are no longer just for the aged

From keprtv.com:

A new spin on why institutions are "good".

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — When Lori Hagedorn was working at area nursing homes, she never dreamed she'd be living in one at age 45.

"I
used to help elderly people and now I'm living with them 24/7," says
Hagedorn, who has been a resident at Orchards Rehabilitation and Care
Center in Lewiston since June.

Plagued with chronic medical
problems, she is part of a growing population of younger people who
need the long-term care, skilled nursing and structure offered in a
nursing home.

Two decades ago, about 1 percent of nursing home
residents were under the age of 65, estimates Robert Vande Merwe,
executive director of Idaho Health Care Association — Idaho Center for
Assisted Living, headquartered in Boise.

Now it's closer to 10 percent, according to statistics from the Department of Social and Health Services in Washington state....

For More...

Motion Picture and Television Fund long-term care facility closing

From KPCC News in Brief:

The medical branch of a retirement facility that’s served performing
artists for 60 years is closing by the end of this year. KPCC’s Cheryl
Devall has more on today’s announcement by the board of the Motion
Picture and Television Fund.

Cheryl Devall: The high cost of health care has
caught up with the medical direct-care services the Motion Picture and
Television Fund established in 1948. A statement from its operators
says the Woodland Hills long-term medical care facility and acute-care
hospital run an operating deficit of about $10 million a year.

At that rate, the organization’s board says it would run out of reserve money within five years.

For More...