Rural and Community Health Messenger Summer 2014 Vol.12/No. 3 The New State of Texas Campaign Sparks Discussion About Mental Health Texas Department of State Health Services In this Issue: • New State of Texas Campaign - Speak Your Mind • Executive Vice President’s Corner • Telemedicine/TexLa Update • WTxHITREC Update • Project FRONTIER: Tribute to Lousinda • Senate Bill 460 Educational Training • AHEC Update 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A publication of the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health M ental health issues can leave people feeling isolated and ashamed. To counter misconceptions about mental illness and help con- nect people with resources, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is launching Speak Your Mind Texas, a statewide conversa- tion about mental health that will spread the message that help is available and recovery is possible. DSHS is working with local organizers to conduct town hall-style community con- versations around Texas to spark discussion about mental health and substance abuse. Speak Your Mind Texas is designed to break down the stigma oſten associated with mental illness and emotional disturbance and remove barri- ers to support and treatment, particularly among teens and young adults. DSHS encour- ages anyone involved with young people, including par- ents, teachers, coaches, com- munity and church leaders, and others, to participate in a Speak Your Mind Texas com- munity conversation in their area. Participants will learn about mental health issues affecting their community, the warning signs of mental illness and substance abuse, and the resources available to help young people and those who support them face these challenges. “People don’t like to talk about mental illness, and they don’t like to hear words like schizo- phrenic or bipolar, and we first have to get over that,” said Derek Dillard, a young adult who experienced bullying and depression and attempted sui- cide before successfully seek- ing treatment with the support of his family. He is one of four young people who candidly lend their voices and stories to a series of videos and public service announcements for Speak Your Mind Texas. “Once we start talking,” Dil- lard said, “we can start making changes.” Resources at speakyourmind- texas.org will help people recognize mental illness and substance abuse and show them how to provide sup- port, promote hope and foster recovery for people experienc- ing mental illness or emotion- al disturbance. Resources are also available by dialing 2-1-1. DSHS is supporting Speak Your Mind Texas with a media campaign that includes televi- sion and radio public service announcements, online ads, and digital and social media outreach. “An estimated one in five Americans will experience a mental health issue during their lifetime, and one in 20 will develop a serious men- tal illness,” said Dr. David Lakey, DSHS commissioner. “Mental illness oſten strikes early, with half of all lifetime cases beginning by age 14 and three-fourths by age 24. at’s why Speak Your Mind Texas is focusing on our state’s youth and the people and organiza- tions that support them.” “People can and do recover from mental illness and sub- stance abuse issues,” Dr. Lakey said. TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER continued on page 5...
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The Rural and Community Health Messenger - Summer 2014
The Rural and Community Health Messenger is a quarterly newsletter produced by the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
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Rural and Community Health
MessengerSummer 2014 Vol.12/No. 3
Th
eNew State of Texas Campaign Sparks Discussion About Mental HealthTexas Department of State Health Services
In this Issue:
• NewStateofTexasCampaign-SpeakYourMind
• ExecutiveVicePresident’sCorner
• Telemedicine/TexLaUpdate
• WTxHITRECUpdate
• ProjectFRONTIER:TributetoLousinda
• SenateBill460EducationalTraining
• AHECUpdate
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A publication of the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health
If your hospital, practice or community would like to learn more about Telemedicine 101 and how utilizing technology can impact your community, please contact the TexLa TRC at www.texlatrc.org for more information.
For more information on the Telemedicine pro-gram, please contact Laura Lappe, Associate Direc-tor of Telemedicine at [email protected] or 806-743-4440.
The WTxHITREC has been federally funded through the ONC and the Texas Health & Human Services Commission. To determine specific pro-gram eligibility, please contact your WTxHITREC; all costs are covered for eligible providers. For more information or to attend a free monthly educational webinar, please contact your WTxHITREC at (806) 743-7960, email [email protected] or visit www.wtxhitrec.org.
WTxHITREC Expands Service and Key Changes in Health ITBy: Carson Scott, Director of Outreach, Marketing, Education and Communications for WTxHITREC
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WTxHITREC Expands Service and Key Changes in Health ITBy: Carson Scott, Director of Outreach, Marketing, Education and Communications for WTxHITREC
For more information on scheduled community conversations, visit speakyourmindtexas.org.
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Senate Bill 460 Educational TrainingTheMentalHealthandEducationtrain-ingmodulehasbeenacceptedbyTEA’spanelofmentalhealthexpertsasthebasetrainingforcurrentandfutureeducatorsinTexasinaccordancewithSenateBill460(SB460).ThistrainingmodulewasdevelopedasacomponentoftheTWITRProjectandincludespertinentinforma-tionforeducatorsintheidentificationofstudentbehaviorsthatmaybeasignofamentalhealthdisorder.