NEW ORLEANS – On Monday, Governor Bobby Jindal highlighted the importance of his comprehensive mental health care reform legislative package passed in the regular session. Jindal spoke about the importance of the five pieces of legislation the administration supported in the session to strengthen the overall design of Louisiana’s mental health delivery system. Previously, at a New Orleans press conference, Jindal had outlined these initiatives before the legislative session and emphasized the mental health care legislation as a focal-point of need.
Jindal’s five mental health care bills are a package of legislation that will work to create a comprehensive, community-based mental health system in Louisiana. The bills provide criteria for crisis receiving centers, expand Human Service Districts, provide for assistive outpatient treatment (“Nicola’s Law”), and allow mental health exams using telemedicine.
Governor Jindal said, “This mental health care package is a great step forward in reforming the mental health care delivery system in our state. This legislation makes it easier to provide mental health services to people in need, and helps keep communities safe from those who are a danger to themselves or others. We have much more work to do to reform our health care system, but this legislation is a solid step toward forming a single point of entry system to help those in crisis get the services they need as quickly as possible.”
At the press conference today, Jindal was joined by DHH Secretary Alan Levine, New Orleans Councilmember Shelley Midura, Senator David Heitmeier, Senator Cheryl Gray and Representative Jon Labruzzo at the New OrleansAdolescentHospital. The hospital was the city’s first public in-patient mental health facility to reopen after Hurricane Katrina and serves a vital role in providing important mental health services to children and adolescents in New Orleans.
DHH Secretary Alan Levine said, “These bills form the starting point for a comprehensive, community-based mental health system that will truly meet the needs of communities throughout the state. Thanks to strong support from Governor Jindal, and the Louisiana legislature, our state is finally headed in the right direction when it comes to mental health care.”
Governor Jindal’s mental health care reform package is part of a series of initiatives to improve mental health care delivery in Louisiana. The administration also invested $89 million to support mental health care services, and recently began covering Multisystemic Therapy, a research-proven for youth with significant behavioral problems. Additionally, DHH has completed a detailed evaluation of the Metropolitan Human Services District, including step-by-step recommendations for improving the operations of the MHSD, many of which have already been implemented.
In addition to these initiatives, DHH has implemented Assertive Community Treatment Teams (ACT) and Forensic Assertive Community treatment Teams, both nationally recognized evidence-based practices, which provide vital mental health services to the most vulnerable, and difficult to reach citizens. These initiatives fit with the Governor’s comprehensive community-based mental health care legislative package to create a sustainable mental health care system that is regionally focused to best meet individual needs.
Also, recently, the DHH has started on an ambitious program to provide e-prescriptions to Medicaid patients.That was not part of the legislative package outlined by Governor Jindal.
Below are the five bills the Governor highlighted today as his comprehensive mental health care reform package:
Governor Jindal’s Comprehensive Mental Health Care Reform Package
Senate Bill 228 - Crisis Receiving Centers
This law allows for the creation of crisis receiving centers, which can immediately assess and meet the needs of people experiencing a mental health crisis. These facilities are not hospitals, but are easily accessible community sites available to the public, law enforcement and other officials that provide a uniform, 24-hour single point of entry for citizens experiencing a behavioral health crisis, including those presenting with suicidal, homicidal or violent behavior.
House Bill 930 - Expansion of Human Services Districts
This law expands and creates standards for Human Service Districts, which are regionally governed and operated behavioral health systems that deliver true continuity of care to citizens throughout the state. Human Service Districts will become the primary providers of behavioral health and developmental disability services on a region-by-region platform. Human Service Districts will be individually tailored to meet the unique needs of each community. Each new Human Service District will be locally governed and managed with input from the community.
Senate Bill 182 - Assistive Outpatient Treatment (“Nicola’s Law”)
This law is named after the New Orleans police officer murdered with her own gun by an individual widely reported to have been in and out of mental facilities. The law provides additional legal options to behavioral health experts and families to ensure mental health clients in crisis receive the services they need. Nicola’s law allows select health officials to petition for an order of assistive outpatient treatment, requiring a patient to receive the help they need when they will not do so voluntarily.
House Bill 653 - Mental Health Exams Using Telemedicine
Currently, when patients in Louisiana are considered dangerous to themselves or others and need to be involuntarily institutionalized, a mental health professional must complete an “actual exam” to assess the patient’s needs. This law allows the use of telemedicine through video and audio technology to allow psychiatrists in a different location to issue the emergency certificates needed to commit individuals in crisis who may be a danger to themselves or others. This important piece of legislation will reduce wait times for those in crisis, ensuring they get the care they need as quickly as possible.
House Bill 193 – Malpractice Insurance for Telemedicine
This bill will ensure that physicians and other mental health care professionals who are providing telemedicine services on a voluntary basis for the Department of Health and Hospitals have medical malpractice liability coverage. This bill eliminates a major barrier in current law that would discourage physicians from volunteering to provide telemedicine services to patients throughout the state.
Yes , it had quite an impact and may return to what I used to have and needed. Many people like that will not come up to the steps and speak up because they are so ashamed to broadcast that the seek counseling even for social, family, relationship, decision making, career, those injured by bullying and verbal abuse, neglect etc. issues.
Angelina
<a href="http://www.drugtreatments.com/louisiana"rel="dofollow">Louisiana Drug Treatment</a> Written by Angelina
on 8/19/2008
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The below was a post in case all of a sudden two articles with the word 'neutered' shows up on the google search.... Steve, you and your Krewe, you are such a bunch of kidders!!!!!!1 Written by ...Watching the wheel go round....................
on 7/9/2008
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Interesting anomaly… If that is truly what it is…. I am sort of convinced that although this buzz bored isn’t actually possessed it probably does need an exorcist of sorts…. Anyways, Stephen’s article: Governor Jindal Mending Bridges With Louisiana written on Tuesday July the 8th of 2008 was ‘miraculously’ restored, and subsequently the Louisiana Business Shorts Healthcare Forum United Way DDay New Orleans Conventions and Tourism article from 2007 that was time and time again displayed at ‘Recent buzz backs (blogs)’ as well as the article ‘Post-Katrina Louisiana Versus President Bush On WRDR Veto’ from 2007 that also kept making its odd reappearances on the ‘Recent buzz backs (blogs)’ has been removed… You have one heck of a funny krewe there Steve…… And then again, I really have to question, “What is it about the generous provisions of aid to be provided on an ‘at cost basis’ for the state of Louisiana that are posted on page 12 of www.strongconcrete.com that causes so much discomfort? I think I know the type of person it annoys, and I am fine with that...... In other words Steve, no it isn’t free, because there are hundreds of millions of dollars of materials involved in those offerings as well as hundreds of workers that will need to be paid……… At cost, I would hope you understood that, gas costs X, steel costs X, labor costs X, etc., etc., etc…….. And so the final ‘PRICE’ reflects the ‘COST’ involved to effect those improvements….. Or are you trying to say that you are not interested in seeing the State and the citizens of Louisiana being provided with heightened storm/erosion protection that can be acquired while using fewer tax dollars then what they are currently shelling out? It isn't a product, it is a favor I am granting Louisiana, so how about a little more leeway huh? Or maybe you are doing me a favor, and being the impartial benevolent hand that is actually helping me……… In some kind of unapparent and crazy way, well, let me just say thank you……. But do us a favor, put a little more impressive picture of yourself on your articles,,, You look like a burned out bum from the red light district in Berlin…. Written by .................Das Rad..........................
on 7/9/2008
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Monday-October-22-2007....The Different One, Bobby Jindal, Can Make a Louisiana Difference......... Written by: Stephen Sabludowsky…… Then of course there is a comparative essay by the same: On the Bayou Buzz ‘Front’ page, scroll down to “search this source now” and type in the word; 'neutered' . Watch what pops up... It is fairly isolated, so click on it, then scroll down to: Written by Stephen Sabludowsky, Publisher of Bayoubuzz on 8/6/2007…. Enjoy the read……….. I did, especially in light of the fact that there is only one entry offered on the google search….. and came to the realization that no other entry of 'neutered' was offered up.. [Sort of an inside slam their Steve, just keeping you honest, and trying to effect a paradigm shift on your part if one is possible] Ahhh,,, priorities, priorities, Priorities........ I get a chuckle out of the Louisiana Business Shorts Healthcare Forum United Way DDay New Orleans Conventions and Tourism that is displayed at ‘Recent buzz backs (blogs)’ as well as the article ‘Post-Katrina Louisiana Versus President Bush On WRDR Veto’ also displayed at ‘Recent buzz backs (blogs)’. Lots of “Oingo – Boingo” running around the pages… So I would suppose that what is being written here is an attempt to come to an understanding of what the priorities of ‘Bayou Buzz’ are no matter whether presented as a nom de’ plume, or as a Stephen Sabludowsky, or a meandering rationality on the part of puppet figures such as Senator Butch Gautreaux ………. And the Recall issue………. What of it? Where is it now? Pi is now hiding out, and riding out the rest of 2008…. Our Guv in action……. Perpetuating inaction……… And wastefulness…. As well as silently advocating some kind of ‘social plan’…… I watched the good Senator try to redefine his intentions where the pay raises were concerned…. He was sort of stammering and wandering a bit as he tried to present it in a more palatable fashion so that folks would hopefully say to theirselves “Oh, we were mistaken, he wasn’t trying to pull our eyeballs out of our sockets”. The way I see it, if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, it probably sure as hell isn’t a Ornithorhynchus anatinus…. There are volumes to be spoken about Pi, Gautreaux, and the rest of the system……. And there are volumes to be spoken about this buzz bored, and when considering that, I have to consider ‘stupidity is in the eye of the beholder’……… So I am sure that the whole merry Krewe alluded to in any of the above sentences have their reasons, priorities, and aims, I just wonder what they are, and what good they intend to do for the masses they are supposedly addressing……. So there you have it Stephen......... Written by ...............STRONGCONCRETE.....................
on 7/9/2008
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Well Louisiana Sunshine, hope your tomorrows are better than your yesterdays…….. And I hope they don’t come and take you away someday because you decided to guard your mind and what is yours in your own way…… Written by
on 7/9/2008
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Yes, I feel that me and a lot of other people in family and friends and neighbors I know has been effected by the cutbacks that Bobby Jindal did in Mike Foster's administration, severe cutback on mental health services that severely effected these with social, relationalship, those children who suffered from bullying/verbal abuse and neglect, and personality disorder type problems. I have been seeing a counselor on 5th Street in Baton Rouge, who helped me through times of financial crisis, career decision making, posttraumatic injury due to verbal abuse/bullying and neglect, social skills, and relationship problems. Foster and Jindal cut that off and only made the community mental health system deal with severe medicated patients that should have been institutionalized in hospitals. They pushed my kind of patients out to Family Counseling who charged sliding scales which lots of the poor could not afford. Also lots of patients went from institutions to homeliness in the streets. This directly effects homeliness. If it were not for my parents and good friends to take me in, I would have been out there with them-poverty. Poverty is sort of a mental illness. I went through all the channels to label me as Katrina/Rita victim. Katrina/Rita had direct impact on my parents, sisters, and brothers and friends and coworkers, and found I was not literally a Katrina victim, who qualified for nothing. But I moved into a Disaster Area, where there is no to lack of mental health services for those who suffer stress, relationship, social skills, personality, and career problems. Yes it had quite an impact and may return to what I used to have and needed. Many people like that will not come up to the steps and speak up because they are so ashamed to broadcast that the seek counseling even for social, family, relationship, decision making, career, those injured by bullying and verbal abuse, neglect etc. issues.
I have to check the legislation and do praise Bobby for returning what has been a working system sense the early 60s. Back to one. Written by Louisiana Sunshine
on 7/8/2008
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Ahhhhhhhh,,,,, And now for the fun ‘n’ games to begin………..>>>>”Governor Jindal said, “This mental health care package is a great step forward in reforming the mental health care delivery system in our state. This legislation makes it easier to provide mental health services to [PEOPLE IN NEED], and helps [KEEP COMMUNITIES SAFE] from those [WHO ARE A DANGER] to themselves or others. We have much more work to do to reform our health care system, but this legislation is a solid step toward forming a single point of entry system to help those in crisis get the services they need as quickly as possible.”<<<<<<< ****** Note* Those rules will not apply to Elected Officials, Public Servants, or any other member of the civil service class because they were installed by, or are compensated by the general population that has decided those entities are more qualified to decide what is or what isn’t good for their interests…… For instance; Senate Bill 228 - Crisis Receiving Centers - - - INTERPRETATION* This deals with issues of the expression of non-compliance or difference of opinion on the part of an individual in regard to perceived circumstances that “may or may not” surround the ‘mentally challenged’ offender… After all, it should be obvious to the perpetrator of such an ‘action’ or crime or to anyone that is observing this type of behavior coming from one of its neighbors that the subject in question simply ‘must be’ mentally unbalanced in order for it to have the audacity to even consider that any opinion or opinions, or actions it may have, or publicly or privately express that is contrary to the ‘teachings’ or ‘directives’ of the status-quo is surely ‘cuckoo’ as decreed by ‘licensed’ practitioners… And therefore can be conveniently sequestered from the public eye due to the effective placement of ‘Detention Centers’ or in common layman’s terms, your local jail house……. I believe Russia was a good test bed for the qualification of that observation…. It was/is very common for ‘dissidents’ there to be sent to ‘Mental Health Facilities’ for “evaluation and behavioral modification therapy”….. House Bill 930 - Expansion of Human Services Districts INTERPRETATION* [Kindly refer to the ****** Note* posted a few lines above this examination.] In other words, people placed into absolute authoritarian positions as a result of Affirmative Action, or Ignorance, or the unfocused vote or misdirected will of the people can, at their discretion, issue orders for the ‘arrest’ and ‘restraint’ of suspected ‘Crazies’ or just out and plain old malcontents at their whim………. They also will, upon the formation of a ‘special board of advisors’ be sanctioned under ‘the auspices of law’ to enforce any regulations their ‘local’ or ‘regional’ proximity decrees as acceptable without having to answer directly to any overall power in place….. As is reinforced by Senate Bill 182 - Assistive Outpatient Treatment (“Nicola’s Law”) and further enforced in proxy as a result of further implementation’s that are manifest under House Bill 653 - Mental Health Exams Using Telemedicine which means that the imprisoned errrrrrrr,,,, uggghhhh,,,,, ‘institutionalized’ person is pretty much isolated from recourse to the law and the condition of ‘trial by an impartial jury of its peers’ is rendered null and void because this is no longer an issue of a civil or criminal violation but rather is put under the ‘catch all’ umbrella of ‘Public Health’ or more specifically, Mental Health jurisdiction……. And how to reduce wait times? Well, have the officer put the ‘mentally challenged’ individual or individual’s in jail” thereby “ensuring they get the care they need as quickly as possible.” And how do you make sure they stay in some dungeon under some Bastille???? Limit the persons ability to communicate freely with the outside world by ‘following the letter of the new law’ by skipping ‘current’ S.O.P’s. and implementing a non personal, non confrontational approach instead by; “allowing the use of telemedicine through video and audio technology to allow psychiatrists in a different location to issue the emergency certificates needed to commit individuals in crisis who may be a danger to themselves or others.” This is a very expedient approach, sort of like the Nazi’s approach to the problem of extermination through the factory approach of ‘showers’ and ‘group’ gas chambers……. That will be such a comfort for those that need a reduction of time involved with the “current wait times for those in crisis”………………. But here is the sinister and diabolical crux of the above set of legislative and judicial actions……… House Bill 193 – Malpractice Insurance for Telemedicine…….. [This bill will ensure that physicians and other mental health care professionals who are providing telemedicine services on a “VOLUNTARY” basis for the Department of Health and Hospitals have medical malpractice liability coverage. This bill eliminates a major barrier in current law that would discourage physicians from volunteering to provide telemedicine services to patients throughout the state.] Sort of reminds me of Hitler’s voluntary Jungstorm, or its adult occult counterpart Sturmabteilung…….. And the icing on the cake, they cannot be ‘sued’ and if they are ‘sued’ as a result of someone being able to make contact with the outer world and telling someone that cares that they are trapped in a dungeon, the taxpayer will pick up the cost of the insurance, or the lawsuit acted upon………………. And so, in short……. My opinion is that now, Pi Boy has shown his true colors, and he is indeed a Juggernaut……………………. The payraise issue was no reason to effect a recall petition, but in my estimation, it is important now that the recall petition become a true affect……. Damn,, don’t know if we are stuck with Landreu for Guv, perhaps that is the fear factor that was planned to circumvent a dethroning of Jindal much in the same way that Bush had a perceived ‘dummy’ named Dan Quail {who incidentally it turns out is a fairly intelligent person, but due to ‘media’ spin that is the perception folks had of him}…… This Guv is a dangerous person, and he assaults any reasonable perceptions lain out which were penned in order to define the basic parameters expected by free thinking people in a democratic society. RECALL THIS ELECTED BLIGHT TO SOCIETY BEFORE IT IS TO LATE…………………… And I write the above knowing I am going to be among the first batch of citizens deemed to be ‘a treat to society due to contradictory thinking or values and therefore must surely be insane to suggest something such as this….. Written by ................STRONGCONCRETE....................
on 7/8/2008
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