5K walk raises awareness for PTSD after suicide by Fort Collins soldier who was treated at Cheyenne VA

Here's a sobering statistic from a story in the Fort Collins Coloradoan:

The Veterans's Administration Regional Medical Center in Cheyenne "in fiscal year 2011 (through July) had 1,954 veteran patients with PTSD, comprising 10.7 percent of the veterans seen, according to VA spokesman Andrew Ruben."

That breaks down to almost 200 patients a month being treated for PTSD. And that's only at one VA Center in our little corner of the world.

U.S. Army Spc. Nicholas Larson of Fort Collins was treated for PTSD at the Cheyenne VA. It wasn't enough. Larson, a 22-year-old Iraq War veteran, killed himself May 12, 2010, leaving behind a wife and son, among other loved ones.

Elizabeth Larson-Haag (sister) and Larson's mother, Monica Meisner, have since started A Soldier's Silent Cry, a petition for the U.S. military to require that troops who have served overseas undergo regular mental-health evaluations.

They are organizing a 5K run/walk that walk starts at 10 a.m. Sunday beginning and ending at Veterans Plaza at Spring Canyon Park in Fort Collins. Contributions benefit Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, which helps people who have lost loved ones in the military.

More staggering stats:

PTSD affects 11 percent to 20 percent of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' website.

Ruben at the Cheyenne VA said veterans struggling with PTSD can find assistance at their local medical center, which can be found at http://www.va.gov or by calling the 24/7 Veteran Combat Call Center at (877) 927-8387.

For more information about registering for the walk or the petition, visit http://www.asoldierssilentcry.com or call (970) 581-7905.

"Just the Facts Please" -- Casper forum will analyze Affordable Care Act

This cartoon is a few years old, but the corporate influence in U.S. health care is still the main problem.

"Just the Facts Please." Great title for a health care forum.

Ever since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, there has been precious little in the way of fact-based discussions on health care issues.

Raucous yet clueless Tea Party Republicans, propped up by lots of money from insurance conglomerates and right-wing think tanks, have hammered away at what they snidely call "Obamacare." A slew of conservative states, Wyoming included, have joined in a lawsuit to block implementation of the ACA. Our Congressional delegation has used the issue to scare constituents and to push their own ultra-conservative agendas. One of them, Sen. Barrasso, is one of only two physicians in the U.S. Senate. Instead of trying to find ways to insure thousands of uninsured Wyomingites, he uses it as a political football and a surefire way to get on Fox talk shows.

So, it is in this poisoned atnmospehere that One Health Voice, a group of Wyoming agencies and organizations "working together to improve access to healthcare in Wyoming," is hosting the 2011 Wyoming Health Care Symposium on Tuesday September 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ramada Plaza Riverside in Casper. The symposium, “Just the Facts Please,” will be the first in a series of informational programs about the Affordable Care Act. Policy experts will be on hand to speak on the issue and take questions.

Keynote speaker will be T.R. Reid. He is the bestselling author of “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Healthcare,” 

Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about the book when it came out in August 2009:

Washington Post correspondent Reid (The United States of Europe) explores health-care systems around the world in an effort to understand why the U.S. remains the only first world nation to refuse its citizens universal health care. Neither financial prudence nor concern for the commonweal explains the American position, according to Reid, whose findings divulge that the U.S. not only spends more money on health care than any other nation but also leaves 45 million residents uninsured, allowing about 22,000 to die from easily treatable diseases. Seeking treatment for the flareup of an old shoulder injury, he visits doctors in the U.S., France, Germany, Japan and England—with a stint in an Ayurvedic clinic in India—in a quest for treatment that dovetails with his search for a cure for America's health-care crisis, a narrative device that sometimes feels contrived, but allows him valuable firsthand experience. For all the scope of his research and his ability to mint neat rebuttals to the common American misconception that universal health care is socialized medicine, Reid neglects to address the elephant in the room: just how are we to sell these changes to the mighty providers and insurers?   

Great question, PW, especially when so many opportunists are clouding the waters.

I hope that the forum helps get us down the path to adopting and understanding the ACA, which still only puts a few steps along the road to real universal health care.

Key presenters, aside from Mr. Reid, are:

·        Lynn Quincy, Consumers Union (Non-profit Publisher of Consumer Reports);

·        Nona Bear,  healthcare consultant and former president of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance;

·        Elizabeth Arenales, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative

·        Doyle Forrestal, outreach specialist for Regional Director or U.S. Health and Human Services

·        Marguerite Salazar, Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service; and

·        Elizabeth Hoy, health policy advisor to Wyoming Governor Matt Mead

Organizations involved with One Health Voice include AARP, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Children’s Action Alliance, Consumer Advocates: Project Healthcare, Equality State Policy Center, National Multiple Sclerosis Society CO-WY Chapter, Wyoming Center for Nursing and Health Care Partnerships, Wyoming Epilepsy Association, Wyoming Health Care Access Network/PhRMA, Wyoming Hospital Association, and the Wyoming Primary Care Association.

To register and see the full schedule of events, please visit www.OneHealthVoice.com or email LRosedahl@pubaffairsco.com.

Obama Recognizing Military Suicides w/ Condolence Letters, Reversing a Longstanding Policy

This is the right thing to do.

Over the past 5 years, over 1,000 service members have taken their lives, and in the Army, over 20% of those occurred in combat zones. This new policy will cover those who tragically take their own lives while actively serving in such zones, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan.

From Daily Kos: Obama Recognizing Military Suicides w/ Condolence Letters, Reversing a Longstanding Policy

Suicide prevention topic of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Summit March 30-31 in Laramie

The University of Wyoming Counseling Center hosts its fourth annual Higher Education Mental Health and Substance Abuse Summit March 30-31 at the UW Conference in the Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie. The topic is suicide prevention.

This is an especially important topic for the state's young people. For young people everywhere. Suicide ranks third as a cause of death among young (15-24) Americans behind accidents and homicides.

"Mental health, suicide, and substance abuse are topics that affect college students and those working with college students regularly," says Lena Newlin, UW Alcohol Wellness Alternatives, Research and Education (AWARE) Program coordinator. "It is important for professionals working with college students to have the understanding and skills on how to best address these issues. This summit will provide an opportunity for training and collaboration to people throughout Wyoming who work with college students."

Several professionals in their respective fields are the scheduled speakers during the summit. Harry Rockland-Miller, Ph.D, will present the clinicians training, which will provide an advanced clinical training program known as "Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk."

The training is offered through the American Association of Suicidology and is based on established core competencies that mental health professionals need to effectively assess and manage suicide risk. Rockland-Miller is director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health, and an associate director of University Health Services at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Rockland-Miller is a trainer and consultant in areas including college mental health, clinical triage, suicide prevention and mental health care delivery. Other clinical interests include crisis intervention, brief therapy and hospital-based treatment.

Kathy Cordell, of Cheyenne, a life coach specializing in medical care, will present the two-day training designed for non-clinicians. Cordell will share her knowledge and techniques of Motivational Interviewing (MI). MI is a student/client-centered, directive method for enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence.

Cordell has an established background working in community healthcare. She has had extensive training in motivational interviewing techniques and facilitates MI training sessions at medical institutions throughout Wyoming to broaden the scope of screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment for substance use.

A pre-conference Gatekeeper's train-the-trainer workshop will be held a day before the actual event Tuesday March, 29. UW's Gatekeeper's training program teaches participants how to recognize the signs and symptoms of someone who might be suicidal and how to refer them to seek professional help.

A lunch presentation Wednesday will feature Keith Hotle from the Wyoming Department of Health.

For more information about the event, presenters, schedule, accommodations or to register, visit the summit website at http://www.uwyo.edu/ucc/summit/index.html

For more information, contact Newlin, in the UW Counseling Center at (307) 766-2187 or e-maillnewlin@uwyo.edu

Photo: Harry Rockland-Miller, director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will provide an advanced clinical training program known as "Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk." (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)

A river of depression runs through it

During today's Super Bowl, I'm going to think a bit about depression. I know how debilitating depression can be. But rarely do I give any thought to professional athletes struggling with the very same malady. Brendan McLean wrote a fine post for the NAMI blog, "Football: A Mind Game." In it, he tells the tales of two NFL players: Terry Bradshaw and Ricky Williams. The jocular Bradshaw doesn't show it on air, but he experienced bouts of depression throughout his career. He treated it himself with alcohol. As we know from novelist William Styron ("Darkness Visible") and TV news commentator Mike Wallace, there comes a time when alcohol no longer works and you have to face the beast. Here's how Wallace described it:

At first I couldn't sleep, then I couldn't eat. I felt hopeless and I just couldn't cope and then I just lost all perspective on things. You know, you become crazy. I had done a story for 60 Minutes on depression but I had no idea that I was now experiencing it. Finally, I collapsed and just went to bed.

Brendan quotes these stats: men are four times more likely than women to commit suicide and half as likely to seek help. So, when the breakdown comes, it can have a Hemingway end or something better. Bradshaw found help in therapy and antidepressants. The taciturn Ricky Williams smoked pot and got busted out of the NFL. He finally found some relief in yoga and meditation. The Denver Broncos' Kenny McKinley committed suicide before the 2010 season.

So, spend a few minutes thinking about the mental health of the athletes out on the field. Forget about pity. Empathy is what's called for. Just think, "It can happen to anybody..."  

Read Brendan's column at http://blog.nami.org/2011/02/football-mind-game.html

Wyoming: Guns 'R' Us

This e-mail update comes from Brianna Jones of the Wyoming Democratic Party. I'd just share a link but the info isn't up on the web site. So here it is in full:

The past week has seen both ups and downs for Democratic interests. Thank you so much to each of you that has responded to our action alerts over the past week and contacted legislators. It is so important that you are taking the time, even if the outcome is not always the one you would hope.

Your input is critical. Please continue watching for our action alerts and contacting your representatives on some of these important pieces of legislation. You can find email addresses for all legislators here: http://legisweb.state.wy.us.

The following is legislation that saw action this week:

Co-employee immunity (SF 61): As sponsored by Sen. Eli Bebout (R-Riverton) and Rep. Tim Stubson (R-Casper) the bill would raise the bar for suing a co-employee (usually a supervisor) for injuries in the workplace. Currently the standard is "willful and wanton" and the standard this would put in place is "with the intent." The AFL-CIO and Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, and the Wyoming Building and Construction Council all spoke out strongly against this legislation. It failed the Senate on first reading by a vote of 13-17.


Very rare and uncommon area designations (HB 152): This legislation as sponsored by Rep. Semlek (R-Moorcroft) would abolish the rare and uncommon designation and would "retain the authority" to remove protections. Adobe Town is currently designated as rare and uncommon. The Wyoming Conservation Voters and Wyoming Outdoor Council are opposing this legislation.

Health Care Choice and Protection Act (HB 35): Legislation sponsored by Rep. Bob Brechtel (R-Casper) passed first reading in the House today with 35 members voting in favor. This bill would make it a crime to implement the affordable care act in Wyoming. Please write your representatives and ask them to oppose this legislation.


Defense of Marriage Act (SJ 5): This legislation which was defeated in 2009, would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to only recognize marriages that are between one man and one woman. The proposal narrowly passed the Senate on a vote of 20-10, with 11 needed to defeat the measure.

DUI-elimination of right to refuse test (HB 29): Legislation sponsored by Rep. Gingery (R-Jackson) would remove the right to refuse a BAC test when there is reasonable suspicion of driving under the influence. It passed the house 35-23.

Civil Unions (HB 150): Rep. Cathy Connolly (D-Laramie) introduced legislation, which would create a system for civil unions in the state of Wyoming. The bill was heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Friday morning and narrowly failed on a vote of 4-5. Reps. Throne (D-Cheyenne), Barburto (D-Rock Springs), Greene (R-Laramie), and Brown (R-Laramie) voted in favor. Reps. Cannady (R-Glenrock), Peasley (R-Douglas), Nicholas (R-Laramie), Krone (R-Cody), and Brechtel (R-Casper) voted against.


Illegal Immigration (HB 94): This is a proposal mimicking Arizona-style SB1070 legislation targeting illegal immigrants. It was brought by Rep. Pete Illoway (R-Cheyenne) and heard in the house minerals committee. There was no motion to move the bill and it died in committee.

Marital Counseling (HB 65): Legislation as introduced by Rep. Bob Brechtel (R-Casper) was heard in the House Labor Committee. It would require three hours of counseling before a marriage or a divorce. The committee significantly amended the bill, but it ultimately died in committee.

Health Care Freedom (SJ 02): This legislation proposes a constitutional amendment guaranteeing so-called "health freedom." It was written in direct response to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It was amended significantly on the Senate floor during first reading and passed. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Leslie Nutting (R-Cheyenne), voted against the bill following amendments.

Abortion - available information for decision (HB 118): This bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Brechtel (R-Casper) would require women who are considering abortion to be given government-scripted information and then wait 24 hours before having the procedure. It failed on general file on a vote of 23-32. 


Concealed Weapons (SF 47): This proposal, sponsored by Sen. Kit Jennings (R-Casper), was defeated last session, would all residents to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. It passed the Senate and will now go to the House.

Sen. Chris Rothfuss will talk about the concealed weapons bill at Monday's meeting of the Laramie County Democrats (see previous post). This is another in a long line of ridiculous bills considered by this legislature. Most handgun violence in Wyoming comes in the form of domestic dust-ups, drunken brawls, and in suicide, either attempted or successful. It's entirely possible that Wyoming's preponderance of guns keeps the violent crime rate down. I'm willing to give that notion some credence. But carjackings and armed robberies and drive-by shootings are still relatively rare in the state. So why does everyone need to carry around a concealed weapon? Is this another N.R.A. inspired and written one-size-fits-all legislation? Or another Tea Party-inspired be-afraid-be-very-afraid bills?

Ask Kit Jennings. Since 2008, Sen. Jennings has been a member of Don't Touch Us, the Domestic Violence Protection Group. This group was formed in Casper after a rash of 2007 domestic incidents ended in shootings. One involved a woman who shot to death her male partner. Will concealed weapons be handy prevention tools for battered women living under the thumbs of violent and well-armed men?

Here's info from a Dec. 22, 2010, press release from the Violence Policy Center, which addresses gun violence as a "public health issue:"

Since May 2007, concealed handgun permit holders have killed at least 282 individuals--including nine law enforcement officers--in 193 incidents in 28 states. In more than two-thirds of the incidents (134) the concealed handgun permit holder has already been convicted, committed suicide, or was killed in the incident. Of the 59 cases still pending, the vast majority (47) of concealed handgun permit holders have been charged with criminal homicide, two were deemed incompetent to stand trial, two incidents were unintentional shootings, and eight incidents are still under investigation. Of the 193 incidents, 17 were mass shootings where concealed handgun permit holders claimed the lives of 73 victims.

Here's another one from Sept. 30, 2010:

Concealed handgun permit holders have killed at least 202 individuals since May 2007 with 34 percent of the killings involving family violence according to the September update of Concealed Carry Killers, a Violence Policy Center (VPC) on-line resource that tallies news reports of killings by concealed handgun permit holders. The update comes one day before the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.

Forty-two of the 122 incidents involved family violence. Of these, 29 involved intimate partner violence. Fifteen of the 42 family violence incidents ended in murder-suicide, accounting for 65 percent (15 of 23) of all the murder-suicides committed by concealed handgun permit holders tallied by the VPC to date.

Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand states, “A permit to carry a concealed handgun has become one more weapon in the arsenal of domestic abusers who ultimately kill their intimate partner or other family member. Contrary to the false assurances of concealed carry proponents, too many of those with valid permits kill in anger, not self-defense.”

And these are permitted gun owners. What happens when anybody can carry a concealed weapon? People such as the mentally ill Tucson shooter? Makes you think...

UPLIFT presents Rodger McDaniel with public service award

Photos by Mindy Dahl

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle education reporter Josh Mitchell wrote about UPLIFT’s 20th anniversary celebration in Wednesday’s edition.

The celebration was held Tuesday evening in the Cole Elementary school gym. One of my fellow UPLIFT board members, Brenda Ducharme, teaches at the school.

UPLIFT, the Wyoming affiliate of Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, presented Rodger McDaniel (shown in lower left in photo with UPLIFT Director Peggy Nickell) with its public service award. McDaniel is the outgoing director of the Wyoming Department of Health’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Division. He will be missed.

I served with Rodger in the early 1990s on the first board of Laramie County Habitat for Humanity. I moved on to other volunteer roles and a few years later, Rodger and his family were in Nicaragua directing that country’s Habitat projects. He returned to his law practice, became an ordained minister and was eventually tapped by Gov. Dave Freudenthal for public service. His retirement was announced last week.

Rodger’s been crucial in bringing vision to a state that struggles with some rotten mental health and drug abuse statistics. Crisis centers – even in the Capital City – are few and far between, as are clinicians. The division’s Medicaid Waiver program for children and teens have helped pay for residential treatment and, even more importantly, aftercare when the child returns home.

Here’s hoping that Rodger and his colleagues have put us on a course that even 2010-style regressive politics can’t change. Wyoming’s new “Code of the West” may be fine for ropin’ and brandin’, but it doesn’t help curtail alarming teen suicide statistics and the state’s shortage of quality children's mental health treatment.

Josh interviewed me for the Nov. 17 story. My two cents worth:

Mike Shay is an UPLIFT board member and both of his children received help from the organization.

UPLIFT outreach coordinators attend school meetings with parents, Shay noted. The organization helps navigate parents through the complex system and connects families with different services, Shay added.

“UPLIFT”s been crucial in Wyoming,” Shay said.

I’d send you to the WTE site to read the rest, but it’s not on there.

As I've said here before, my son struggled with ADHD and my daughter has mental health issues. Both were helped by the incredible UPLIFT staff. We need these professionals to navigate school and government and treatment centers. They serve as guides to us confused, stressed-out parents.

You can find out more about UPLIFT at http://www.upliftwy.org/

Real Wyoming suicide problem trumps imaginary one

From Fox News:

U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis said Friday that some of her Wyoming constituents are so worried about the reinstatement of federal estate taxes that they plan to discontinue dialysis and other life-extending medical treatments so they can die before Dec. 31.

Instead of worrying about some imaginary suicide problem in Wyoming, Lummis could be doing something about a real suicide problem (from an article by Baylie Evans in the 8/28/10 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle):

Since 1999, Wyoming has had one of highest suicide rates in the nation. In 2002, 2003 and 2006, Wyoming had the highest rate of any state.
It's a statistic that many say is unacceptable, but is largely ignored or avoided by the general public.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among Wyoming youth, said Keith Hotle, the suicide prevention team leader with the Wyoming Department of Health. Only car crashes kill more teens.

If a new disease was the second-leading cause of death for youth, "that would be front page news all over the state," he said.

Instead, the topic makes people cringe.

People such as Rep. Lummis, no doubt.

Has she shown similar outrage about this real problem?

Read the rest of WTE's disturbing article at http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2010/08/29/news/01top_08-29-10.txt