By Amber Perry In the seven years since she lost her brother, Tori Madison has slowly come to realize a new purpose in life. Madison has learned to use her own recovery from grief to find ways to help others in trouble. That journey has led her to develop a phone application for college students…
More than most tragedies, suicide should be preventable. But thwarting it can prove terribly difficult as the causes and warning signs often go unrecognized. In fact, the rate of suicides has gone up recently, and though the increase in Georgia is not as great as the one nationwide, it is cause for alarm. September is…
By Judy Fitzgerald September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and this is an especially important issue to discuss right now. In fact, talking about suicide out loud — regularly, repeatedly, and thoughtfully — is part of the solution. There are many ways that you can help prevent suicide, regardless of your age, race, status, or background, but first, let’s…
Georgia is still failing to meet key parts of its agreement with the U.S. Justice Department on caring for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities, according to an independent reviewer’s report released this week. The reviewer, Elizabeth Jones, cited “preventable deaths occurring in the state system, often the product of confirmed neglect.’’ Many deaths…
Editorial note: This is a reporter’s tribute to a Georgian beloved by people from all walks of life and all shades of opinion. As a lobbyist, Dawn Alford was smart, tenacious and effective. As a person, she was unfailingly pleasant, greeting people with a big smile. And as a woman with disabilities, Dawn set a compelling…
The 140-plus acres of Rome’s mental hospital have stayed empty and forlorn-looking since the facility closed eight years ago. The shuttering of Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital came as the state was just beginning to execute its settlement agreement with the Justice Department over hospital conditions and the lack of community services. The city government exhausted…
Early this year, in the waning days of his tenure as Georgia governor, Nathan Deal wrote the U.S. Department of Justice a four-page letter, asking for an end to federal oversight of the state’s mental health and developmental disabilities system. The oversight role stems from a 2010 settlement agreement between the state and the Justice…
A Senate committee voted Wednesday in favor of a bill to create a state commission to analyze Georgia’s behavioral health services and recommend improvements. The commission would be authorized to take ‘’a very deep dive’’ into the state’s mental health system, said Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville), lead sponsor of House Bill 514. He said Gov….
The proposed reform of the state’s certificate-of-need (CON) system faces an uncertain fate, just days before a legislative deadline. Lawmakers are considering the broadest revamp of the controversial regulatory program in years, and several hearings have been held on the issue. But Crossover Day is scheduled for March 7. That’s the day when a bill…
During the past eight months, Georgia Health News and WebMD have investigated violations of a longstanding federal law on emergency room care. Our investigation found that over a 27-month period, about 1 in 7 of these ER violations involved patients who were having a mental health crisis, including having suicidal thoughts. Many patients battling mental…