Serious Mental Illness in the U.S.
Serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression and manic bipolar disorder, can be enormously disabling if left untreated.
Despite significant improvements in treatment and care, only about a quarter of all people affected receive help. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set public health goals for the nation through a program called Healthy People 2010. One overriding goal is to eliminate health disparities among minority populations, the poor and Americans living in rural areas. Mental health is one of the 10 key indicators listed.
Following these goals, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation is focusing on helping to reduce mental health disparities by building health care and support services for patients at the community level.
We also support new efficient ways to better integrate the significant numbers of schizophrenia patients who no longer need high levels of intensive outpatient treatment back into the community.
Key Programs We Support:
Alabama Coalition Helps People with Serious Mental Illness in Rural Impoverished Counties
The Coalition for a Healthier Black Belt is developing training programs and enhancing mental health services in 12 impoverished rural counties in Alabama. The coalition includes government, university, hospital, community mental health centers and faith-based networks.
A $1.2 million Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation grant supports several organizations in their work to decrease the misunderstanding and stigma of mental illness, as well as support those people suffering from it.
For example, the West Alabama Mental Health Center has used the money to furbish and equip a mobile mental health van, staffed by professionals who provide behavioral and primary health care to patients in several counties. The center also bought tele-medicine equipment to give remote rural patients tele access to doctors, says Kelley Parris-Barnes, executive director of the center. Read More
Boston Medical Center Program to Help Improve Overall Health for Patients with Serious Mental Illness
People with persistent mental illness have an average life expectancy that is 25 years shorter than the general population.
One study showed a three-fold difference in heart disease in individuals with serious mental illness between the ages of 25 and 44 when compared to the general population.
Boston Medical Center’s Division of Psychiatry is using a $498,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation grant to develop a program to encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors for people who suffer from mental illness.
The program educates primary care physicians about the special needs of mental health patients, including the need for regular health checkups, adherence to a routine medication schedule as prescribed, and assistance in making healthy lifestyle changes. It also explores how doctors may use electronic medical record technology as a way to keep track of patients and enhance health care.
A key to this program will be the training of health care personnel to act as navigators for patients with serious mental illness. Navigators assist patients and their families in using available health care services. For example: arranging various forms of financial support; scheduling transportation to appointments; organizing child care during appointments; and reminding patients about pending appointments or of the need to schedule an appointment.
Delivering Culturally Appropriate Support for Native Americans with Serious Mental Illness
Native Americans often have inadequate access to culturally appropriate and effective mental health services.
A $750,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation grant to Mental Health America will be used to develop a peer-to-peer training program for use in the Navajo and Ute Nations region in tribal lands crossing the borders of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.
It will also create education programs to help reduce the stigma and discrimination around mental health disabilities in the frontier and tribal lands of North Dakota. Among the approaches to be used will be creation of leadership groups within tribal communities focusing on behavioral health, and peer-led mental health programs in tribal and frontier communities. Each year, 30 peer specialists are expected to graduate from peer-to-peer training to staff these programs.
Women in Government Address Mental Health Policymaking
Women in Government is a bi-partisan organization of state legislators who work together to address and resolve complex public policy issues through education and legislative skills building.
A $150,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation grant will fund a reconvening in 2009 of the 2008 participants of the group’s Mental Health Task Force. The program goals are to educate members about clinical, social and policy opportunities and barriers in mental health and examine program models for community mental health services.
New Jersey Mental Health Institute to Increase Services for Hispanics
Hispanics with limited English proficiency in three New Jersey counties will be the primary beneficiaries of a program from the New Jersey Mental Health Institute and the National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health, funded by a $750,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation grant.
The Institute will partner with Care Plus N.J. and the Lester A. Drenk Behavioral Health Center to increase outreach, treatment and education activities in Bergen, Burlington and Essex counties. A secondary goal will be to develop a way to replicate the program in other counties in New Jersey and across the nation.
Mothers with Depression to Benefit from Clinical Project in Louisiana
Mothers who are depressed not only have greater difficulty caring for themselves and their families, but their depression often poses a risk factor for the development of psychopathology in their children.
The Lake Charles area of Louisiana, which has a serious shortage of mental health workers, has about a fifth of the population in the region living below the poverty line, and is an area plagued by multiple hurricanes including Katrina. These factors have added to levels of stress in the region.
A $938,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation grant to the Family and Youth Counseling Agency, in partnership with the Louisiana Office of Mental Health, the Office of Addictive Services and the National Alliance for Mental Illness Southwest Louisiana, will provide effective screenings, assessments and treatments for mothers experiencing depression, evaluate the effectiveness of the program and develop strategies for program sustainability and growth for other regions in the state.
Screenings in primary care, ob/gyn, pediatric and mental health clinics will be used to identify depression and substance abuse in pregnant women, new mothers and experienced mothers. Mothers also will be provided with child care assistance, daily living skills and parent management training.
Young People with Serious Mental Illness Transitioning from Child-based Systems to Adult Systems of Care to be Added in Sustaining Effective Services
Young people, ages 18-26, with serious mental illness often face practical hurdles that range from securing housing and employment to obtaining medical treatment.
A $732,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb grant to the National Council will help develop the Transition to Independence program, which will initially focus on providing services for 40 young adults in their community.
The council will select a community behavioral health organization to develop and pilot a number of services. Services will include youth-oriented mentors and coaches, available to work with the young adults throughout their transition years; access to employment, vocational training, and work ethics programs; access to tutoring services to facilitate success in college; wellness self-management training; and social skills training and support.