1041 results for author: Mental Health Colorado

THE LAGGING STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE

By: Jamie Siebrase Annette and Paul’s daughter ran a thriving business and owned real estate in their hometown of Pueblo. Then she turned 33, and things changed dramatically. “She talked about being a spirit medium,” Annette says. Paranoia began. Mysterious entities stole clothes, moved belongings and spoke to Annette’s daughter through earbuds. “We knew something was wrong, but we felt like deer in the headlights,” Paul says. He couldn’t reason with his daughter, and since she was an adult, he couldn’t force her to get help. The couple, who asked that their middle names be used to protect their family’s privacy, ...

BILL AIMS TO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH HELP, ACCOUNTABILITY

By: J. Adrian Stanley, The Colorado Independent Those seeking mental health care in Colorado should have a lot working in their favor. Laws require insurance carriers to provide an adequate number of providers and supply equal coverage for mental and physical health care. And in Colorado, state rules dictate that a person seeking non-emergency mental health care is required to be provided care within seven days. Yet, a December 2017 report from Milliman Research found that Coloradans go out of network for mental health care around seven times as often as they do for physical care, and that mental health providers are reimbursed at rates about 40 ...

Help us all

April 18, 2018 Jill Conner’s two daughters struggled with drug addiction. Both also had insurance coverage, but that’s where the similarities end. Jill’s older daughter couldn’t find a treatment facility that would accept her insurance. Three days before her 27th birthday, she overdosed on fentanyl and died in her parents’ home. Her younger sister found care—at a facility in Utah. She is now two years in recovery. Jill shared her children’s stories, and her support for House Bill 18-1357, with the state legislature yesterday. The bill would strengthen the enforcement of mental health parity and network adequacy laws; it ...

Countdown

April 11, 2018 Four weeks. That’s all the time we have left before this year’s legislative session ends. But it’s enough time to pass a “red flag” law. These laws create extreme risk protection orders, allowing guns to be temporarily removed from the homes of people who pose a significant danger to themselves or others. Six states have now enacted such laws; Colorado has not. We’re urging lawmakers to introduce and pass this measure before time runs out. Please ask your state representative and your state senator to sign on today. Extreme risk protection orders require compelling evidence and respect due process rights. ...

PENDING LEGISLATION WOULD ENSURE CHILDREN CAN ACCESS MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT

By: Jena Hausmann, Andrew Romanoff What would you do if you had to give up your child in order to access mental health services? For some Coloradans, this is a reality. Colorado ranked 48th in the country for overall youth mental health, according to Mental Health America’s 2018 “The State of Mental Health in America” report. This same report estimates that more than 13 percent of Colorado teens ages 12-17 have had at least one major depressive episode in the last year. Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Coloradans aged 10-24, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. These statistics are stagger...

COLORADO’S GOVERNOR, DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS WANT TO ALLOW JUDGES TO SEIZE GUNS FROM PEOPLE IN CRISIS. NOW THEY NEED GOP SUPPORT.

“Red flag” bills have passed in several states, including Florida, where the legislature is GOP-controlled By: Jesse Paul and John Frank, The Denver Post A series of recent fatal shootings in Colorado and nationwide is leading Gov. John Hickenlooper and state Democratic lawmakers to push for a “red flag law” that would allow judges to temporarily seize guns from people they consider to be a threat. The late effort is part of a nationwide discussion about the intersection of mental health and the Second Amendment after the February massacre at a South Florida high school and the fatal shooting of a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy almost ...

OLDER BRAIN CELLS CAN CREATE NEW CELLS TOO

By Amy Norton, WebMD THURSDAY, April 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Contrary to popular thought, older adults' brains can churn out just as many new cells as younger brains do, a new study suggests. Using autopsied brain tissue, researchers found that healthy older adults had the same capacity to create new cells in the brain's hippocampus region as young adults did. The hippocampus is involved in regulating memory and emotions, and it typically shrinks in people with Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The new findings give a snapshot of the healthy aging brain -- and it's a "positive" one, the researchers said. ...

DENVER BALLOT INITIATIVE AIMS TO FINANCE MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAMS

By: John Daley, CPR News A ballot initiative in Denver could bring in tens of millions of dollars a year to help those with mental health and substance disorder issues. State lawmaker Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat, is spearheading the "Caring 4 Denver" campaign.  She says the proposal makes financial sense because if it’s passed by voters it could fund a variety of mental health programs. The proposal calls for a one-quarter of 1 percent sales tax -- that's 25 cents on a $100 purchase. "We know that if people who suffer from a mental health crisis don't get the help they need they end up in our emergency rooms and our ...

STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH FORUM

April 1, 2018 As the race for Colorado governor heats up it's important to know where the candidates are on mental health. Watch our State of Mental Health Forum recap to see where they stand.

Got care?

You need mental health care. You can’t find a psychiatrist or a therapist who will provide it. You’re not alone. Each year, half a million Coloradans go without the mental health care they need. Most have insurance, but that doesn’t always mean their care gets covered. A new proposal aims to change that. House Bill 18-1357, sponsored by Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet (D-Commerce City) and Sens. Bob Gardner (R-Colorado Springs) and Angela Williams (D-Denver), would create a state ombuds office to help Coloradans navigate the mental health system. Under the state’s current rules, you shouldn’t have to wait more than seven days to see ...