DATE: June 7, 2013, TIME: 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., Speaker: Michael Kollar, Ph.D.

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Program Description: Recent tragic events have focused a national spotlight on the relationship between violence and mental illness. Aggression is one of the more common problems for which mental health patients present for treatment, especially in the inpatient setting. The causes of aggression can be diverse and are often multifactorial. Here we examine these various factors which may potentially cause aggression as well as different treatment options (both pharmacological and non-pharmacological) for management of aggression.

Dr. Vo is a board-certified psychiatrist. He is on staff at Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health where he sees inpatients daily in the mornings. In the afternoons he sees outpatients at his private practice – Coastal Tides Counseling – in Mount Pleasant. He treats patients of all ages but specializes primarily in the treatment of children and adolescents.

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TIME: 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Speaker:  Tamara Starnes, LPC, Special Services Coordinator, Forensics, Charleston Mental Health Center

Program Description:  This presentation will explore issues relevant to juvenile offenders including those with mental health issues.  Ms. Starnes will explore common juvenile justice system lingo and barriers between systems and review current research and knowledge concerning what interventions appear to reduce recidivism in this population.

No RSVP required. For questions, please call 843.747.5830 or email stacey.lindbergh@uhsinc.com.

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TIME: 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Speaker:  Charleston area  Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

Program Description:  Despite advances in the understanding of treatment for mental illness, people who live with bipolar disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, and other severe and persistent conditions continue to face barriers in public attitudes that often deter them from engaging in recovery.  In Our Own Voice presentations enrich the audiences’ understanding of how the over 58 million Americans contending with mental illness cope while also reclaiming rich and meaningful lives.  Two NAMI trained In Our Own Voice speakers share compelling and personal testimonies of living with and overcoming the challenges posed by mental illness.

No RSVP required. For questions, please call 843.747.5830 or email stacey.lindbergh@uhsinc.com.

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Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health is one of 620 hospitals in the U.S. earning the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance.  Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health was recognized for its achievement on the Hospital Based Inpatient Psychiatric Services (HBIPS) measures.  The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2011 calendar year.  The list of Top Performers increased by 50 percent from its debut last year and represents 18 percent of more than 3,400 eligible accredited hospitals reporting data.

Each of the hospitals that were named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures met two 95 percent (95/95) performance thresholds on 2011 accountability measure data.  First, each hospital achieved performance of 95 percent or above on a single, composite score that includes all the accountability measures for which it reports data to The Joint Commission, including measures that had fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients.  Second, each hospital met or exceeded 95 percent performance on every accountability measure for which it reports data to The Joint Commission, excluding any measures with fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients.  A 95 percent score means a hospital provided an evidence-based practice 95 times out of 100 opportunities to provide the practice.  Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice—for example, giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, and providing a home management plan for children with asthma.

“When we raise the bar and provide the proper guidance and tools, hospitals have responded with excellent results,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission.  “This capacity for continual improvement points toward a future in which quality and safety defects are dramatically reduced and high reliability is sought and achieved with regularity.  Such day-to-day progress will slowly but surely transform today’s health care system into one that achieves unprecedented performance outcomes for the benefit of the patients.”

“We understand that what matters most to patients at Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health is safe, effective care.  That’s why Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health has made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes.  Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health is proud to be named to the list of The Joint Commission’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures,” says Shari Lynn W. Baker, CEO.

In addition to being included in today’s release of The Joint Commission’s “Improving America’s Hospitals’ annual report, Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health will be recognized on The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org).  The Top Performer program will be featured in the October issues of The Joint Commission Perspectives and The Joint Commission:  The Source.

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by Adam Parker – printed in The Post and Courier January 23, 2012

Keris Xavier Hannapel, a 20-year-old student at the College of Charleston and by all accounts a creative and vivacious young woman, was suddenly overcome on June 30 last year by a feeling of failure and grief, her father and sister said. That morning, Hannapel’s boyfriend broke up with her, a final act in a relationship that never was very intimate. They had been growing distant for a while.

Soon after, Hannapel, who was called Kiki by family and friends, sent him a text message: “Goodbye. Maybe forever.” She had fallen into the black hole of suicide, where no light shone.

At around noon, Kiki entered the bedroom of the Coming Street apartment she shared with her sister, Deryn, and a friend, and hanged herself from the closet door. Some hours later, Deryn and her boyfriend found Kiki, removed her body from the door and called authorities.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

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Suicide is the third largest cause of death in the United States for ages 10-24. For current military personnel or veterans, suicide rates are increasing and exceeding the national average of 11.1 suicides per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Defense Department.  The agency says the military rate averaged 12.5 suicides per 100,000 people in 2010.

The National Violent Death Reporting System, which is part of the U.S. Center for Disease Control, reported veterans account for 20 percent of 30,000 to 32,000 annual deaths by suicide. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates stated in 2009, “In everything we do, we must remember that every soldier, sailor, airman or Marine is part not just of the military but also a larger community. Their families, their hometowns, their civilian employees, their places of worship, all must be involved in the solution.”

Charleston has a large military and veteran’s  community, and we have a deep commitment to the well being of our armed forces, and appreciation for the sacrifices they have made for us.  We hope through this event, we will be able to provide help and support to them.

A report released in November 2011 by the National Alliance on Mental Illness states that South Carolina has made cuts in their public mental health system more drastically than any other State, more than 39 percent since fiscal year 2009. The Alliance says the state’s mental health budget has gone from around $187 million to under $114 million during that time

In an effort to prevent suicide among our high risk groups, our youth and military, and provide support to a significantly reduced public mental health and education system, this event is being sponsored by the North Charleston Rotary Club. The goal is to provide free suicide preventive education to educators, military personnel, health care and child care providers, mental health providers, parents, and the general public.

Click here to view the registration information.

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