A Call to Action from the Nation's Nurses in the Wake of Newtown

allnurses Guide · Jan 11, 2013

Time to Act Now To Restore Our Ravaged Mental Healthcare System

by Deborah Burger RN

Registered nurses across the country mourn the loss of life marked by the shooting of innocents in Connecticut. This should be a clear wake up call for the White House, Congress, and state and local legislators to take action to address causes of the violence, including restoring the devastating cuts that have occurred to mental health services across the U.S. ...

Every day a massive tragedy is being played out on a smaller scale everyday in emergency rooms, in mental health facilities, and on the streets across our country, where, with sometimes devastating consequences, mental health is underfunded to a shocking, and sometimes deadly degree.

Members of National Nurses United, the nation's largest organization of nurses, say it is time to act with both short term and long term responses. It is incumbent on all of us to:

Demand private healthcare systems reverse the pervasive cuts to mental health services, especially by profit-focused institutions which view mental health as an easy target for cuts because it is less profitable and has fewer public advocates.
Increase federal, state and local funding of public mental health programs and public health clinics, which play a crucial role in identifying persons with potentially violent mental health problems.
Require health insurance companies to provide full coverage for mental health services, and require parity in mental health coverage with other health services.
Restore school nurses and counselors who are frequently a first target of school budget cuts.
Challenge the stigma of mental health that undermines mental health programs and stigmatizes people needing mental health care, the overwhelming majority of whom are not violent.
Guarantee health care for everyone, including mental health services, based on patient need, not ability to pay, as in improving and expanding Medicare to cover everyone....

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/18

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 11, 2013

National AssociationSchool Nurses : NASN Responds to Connecticut School Shooting

School nurses serve as critical members of school crisis prevention and response teams. School nurses are caring and supportive professionals who help make the school a safe nurturing place for all students—the bedrock upon which academic success is built. School nurses have an integral role in emergency/disaster preparedness and are invaluable in any crisis response—assisting survivors, talking with distraught family members, helping school staff members, assessing gaps, making referrals and supporting the rebuilding. School nurses are not only instrumental in planning for an emergency and implementing the strategy, but are constants for students and school staff, remaining a steady safe haven in the aftermath of a disaster.
NASN's message on preparedness is not just in the wake of disasters, but always. As the school nurse's professional association, NASN makes national disaster preparedness resources readily available. We encourage every school nurse to develop the skills and expertise necessary for effective crisis and disaster planning, mitigation and response. We encourage all school nurses to visit the resource page for disaster preparedness links at http://www.nasn.org/ToolsResources/DisasterPreparednessLinks.
As school nurses, you safeguard our students in every way to keep them healthy,
in school and ready to learn. As the liaison between school personnel, family,
community and healthcare providers, you advocate for health care and a healthy
school environment. And to the school community, you are a non-negotiable
resource

A Call to Action from the Nation’s Nurses in the Wake of Newtown

More than 30 leading organizations, including NASN, representing registered

nurses signed on to a Call to Action sent on December 20, 2012 to President Obama, congressional leaders, and leaders of both the National Governors Association and The United States Conference of Mayors that urges swift action to address factors that together will help prevent more senseless acts of violence in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

allnurses Guide · Jan 11, 2013

National AssociationSchool Nurses : NASN Responds to Connecticut School Shooting
A Call to Action from the Nation’s Nurses in the Wake of Newtown
More than 30 leading organizations, including NASN, representing registered
nurses signed on to a Call to Action sent on December 20, 2012 to President Obama, congressional leaders, and leaders of both the National Governors Association and The United States Conference of Mayors that urges swift action to address factors that together will help prevent more senseless acts of violence in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

I think there should be a school nurse in every school.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jan 12, 2013

Agreed!

workingharder · Jan 12, 2013

To InfirmiereJolie,

What I've seen of these posts are disagreements with your position (and your writing style). Some of the posts were worded in, let's say, frank ways. I really, truly don't see much name calling or insulting remarks in the above list. I know, that's just my perception.

However. What I do wonder about is how you are going to handle adverse or abrupt disagreement when you enter into the real world of nursing. I will guarantee, you will receive far harsher verbiage in the workplace. There will be strong differences of opinion on the floor from Nurses, Techs, Management and Physicians, as well as Patients and Family. As a working nurse you will have to expect, accept and also embrace it.

You have strong opinions and the willingness to do research to back up those opinions. I salute you for that. I once had very set in stone opinions about certain ideas and ideals, but with the passing of years I've come to realize that the world has very few issues that are black and white. Most are shaded in gray.

Take the differing opinions as a sign that, perhaps others have logical reasoning on their side also.

Remember, the world is a dialogue, not a monologue.

I really do wish you well.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 12, 2013

I have been trying to keep to keep this thread open for its an important topic: preventing gun violence, especially in the schools.

Posts/threads have been edited to confirm to our Terms Of Service:

We promote the idea of lively debate. This means you are free to disagree with anyone on any type of subject matter as long as your criticism is constructive and polite. Additionally, please refrain from name-calling. This is divisive, rude, and derails the thread.
Our first priority is to the members that have come here because of the flame-free atmosphere we provide. There is a zero-tolerance policy here against personal attacks. We will not tolerate anyone insulting other's opinion nor name calling.
Our call is to be supportive, not divisive.

Further divisive posting will result in permanent closure.

allnurses Guide · Jan 12, 2013

Statement from APHA Executive Director Dr. Georges C. Benjamin in response to events Friday, Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn.

http://www.apha.org/about/news/pressreleases/2012/Newtown+response.htm

And a letter:

The American Public Health Association expressed its strong support for action to "protect our nation's children and their families from the growing epidemic of gun violence" in a letter sent today to President Barack Obama.
"Gun violence is one of the leading causes of preventable death in our country and we must take a comprehensive public health approach to addressing this growing crisis," wrote APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD. "For too long, we as a nation have failed to take on this devastating problem in our communities, and we can wait no longer."
Benjamin strongly supported the president's leadership in "developing a comprehensive public health approach to reducing gun violence in our nation," and outlined several key steps as part of such a plan, including:
adopting common sense gun control legislation such as reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and closing the "gun show loophole," which exempts private sellers of firearms from conducting criminal background checks on buyers at gun shows;
expanding the collection and analysis of data related to gun violence and other violent deaths to better understand the causes and allow authorities to develop appropriate interventions to prevent such violence; and
ensuring adequate funding for critical mental health services, and ensuring that the Affordable Care Act provides comprehensive coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorder services as part of the law's essential health benefits.
http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/B43A3962-A0F1-4D69-86E7-FE9E556DC487/0/APHAgunviolenceWH122012final.pdf

22gawhitacre · Jan 12, 2013

Are gun free signs on schools a common sense approach? Was midnight basketball a common sense approach to deterring crime? Let's have some common sense reforms on free speech and freedom of the press. How about some common sense reform on entitlements?

Statement from APHA Executive Director Dr. Georges C. Benjamin in response to events Friday, Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn.
APHA: Statement from APHA Executive Director Dr. Georges C. Benjamin in response to events Friday, Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn.
And a letter:

PMFB-RN, RN · Jan 12, 2013

I think there should be a school nurse in every school.

Yes! That is something I could get behind. Also something appropiate for a nursing organization to be advocating for.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 12, 2013

American Psychiatric Nurses Association Calls for Increased Access to Mental Health Care to Prevent Tragic Loss of Life

Falls Church, VA

December 20, 2012

...“As psychiatric mental health nurses, we are on the front lines in helping individuals deal with the traumas resulting from such senseless acts of violence. We are also aware of how mental health services can help identify and intervene with individuals who are at risk for such violent behaviors.” says APNA President Beth Phoenix, PhD, RN, CNS. “To paraphrase the UNESCO Charter, ‘Since violence begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.’ Expanding the availability of services that prevent mental disorders and provide effective treatment for those that cannot be prevented is essential in ‘constructing the defenses of peace’ in our communities.”
APNA applauds the American Nurses Association for speaking out about this tragedy and has signed onto their letter that identifies measures aimed at preventing such tragedies in our communities. This letter urges policymakers at all levels to:
• Restore access to mental health services for individuals and families
• Increase students’ access to nurses and mental health professionals from the elementary
school level through college
• Ban assault weapons and enact other meaningful gun control reforms to protect society
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings (2010), about 20% of American adults suffered from a mental illness during 2010. However, only about 13% of American adults received treatment for mental illness and 19% of those who did receive treatment still reported having experienced an unmet mental health need during that year. These numbers serve to underline the dire need for better access to mental health treatment. While horrific acts of violence such as the recent shootings are widely covered in the media, the tragic loss of tens of thousands of lives to suicide each year is an often hidden consequence of untreated mental illness.
Recently, cutbacks within schools and community health care systems have impeded critical access to school nurses and mental health professionals, such as psychiatric mental health nurses, who are trained to recognize and intervene early with those at risk for violent or self-harming behavior. These cuts have been exacerbated during the recent recession. At the same time, the demand for mental health services for all populations, including our nation’s veterans, has been increasing. ...

October 31, 2011 Ball State Univ. Study:

Psychiatric nurses need training to reduce gun related suicides ..

Psychiatric nurses could play a role in preventing firearm suicides and homicides among the mentally ill, but few receive training on this issue, says a new study from Ball State University.
"Graduate Psychiatric Nurses' Training on Firearm Injury Prevention" found that in spite of the concrete recommendations from American Psychiatric Nursing Association, only 9.4 percent of psychiatric nursing programs in the U.S. reported training their students to look for signs that patients might shoot themselves or someone else, said study co-author Jagdish Khubchandani, a community health education professor in the university's Global Health Institute and Department of Physiology and Health Science.
This study is a part of a series conducted by Khubchandani and his colleagues, examining efforts by medical education to reduce firearm trauma. Their research has found that 80 to 90 percent of firearm suicides and homicides are committed by people with a mental health need. ...

Overland1, RN · Jan 12, 2013

"Gun violence is one of the leading causes of preventable death in our country and we must take a comprehensive public health approach to addressing this growing crisis," wrote APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD. "For too long, we as a nation have failed to take on this devastating problem in our communities, and we can wait no longer."

Somewhat eloquent, but statistically wrong, and yet another example of Mr. Emanuel's advice (i.e., not letting a good crisis go to waste). I am not really amazed anymore at the wrong information that keeps coming out and is being repeated about gun violence lately. The stuff grows more legs every hour as people see something offered by a so-called authority (often a politician or somebody connected to one) and repeat it as though it was true.

The advice we should follow is not that of Mayor Emanuel, but rather that of Mr. Thomas J. Watson, Sr... a gentleman I surmise almost nobody here has heard of ("Google" the name, please). His advice is simple:

"All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think."

Incidentally, when he said this, the term "men" was used to include all people in a generic sense - Watson was not a sexist and he had no binders full of women.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jan 12, 2013

Improving access to mental health services---especially for our youth---and taking psychiatric disorders at least as seriously as physical disease would not stop violence, but it might help prevent the development of violent tendencies that usually begin in childhood. As studies have shown, many people who commit serious crimes as adults suffered some sort of trauma in early life, leading to difficult behaviors and often progressing to fighting and defiance of authority as they grow older; later, they begin to self harm and/or hurt small animals, which all too frequently leads to violence against other humans. Professional intervention with a child in the early stages of this process would almost certainly reduce the number of these incidences and hopefully prevent future tragedies......but it also takes an educated society and the cooperation of parents, both of which are sadly lacking today.

A Call to Action from the Nation's Nurses in the Wake of Newtown

Nurses: Do You Support a Call to Action in the Wake of Newtown + other shootings