President's Mental Health Commission Meets on Capitol Hill
On April 29, 2002, President Bush established the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health to study how good current public and private institutions were at providing mental health services to its customers. The Commission met 11 times publicly, and reviewed 2,500 comments from "consumers, parents, family members, advocates, service providers, educators, researchers, and other concerned individuals." It issued its final report on improving mental health services in July 2003.
The Commissioners are today returning to Capitol Hill to hear a variety of panels, the first focusing on the mental health of returning war vets. Presentations on this panel will be given by Frances Murphy, M.D., M.P.H. (Veterans Health Administration); Joy Ilem (Disabled American Veterans); and Stefanie Pelkey (former Army captain). Last year, I wrote of Stefanie Pelkey's struggle to make sense of her husband's suicide after returning from Iraq.
Want to stay connected? You can subscribe to PTSD Combat via Feedburner or follow Ilona on Twitter.
2011: Jan