A landmark policy in nursing that affects nursing as we see it today, specifically pertinent to the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner role, is the Community Mental Health Act of 1963 (CMHA). This act provided federal funding for community mental health centers and research in the United States. This act was passed as part of President John F. Kennedy's New Frontier (Korr, 2020). Before CMHA, many Americans with disabilities were sent to asylums. Asylum’s goals during this time were unfortunately focused on keeping people experiencing mental illness out of sight from the public, rather than providing therapy or care to these patients. Care and facility standards varied significantly from state to state, with little to no federal oversight. After the passage of this act, community mental health centers developed in towns and cities throughout the country, which lead to considerable deinstitutionalization. The CMHA provided grants to states to develop these community mental health centers and was overseen by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH). Studies regarding mental health were also conducted by the NIH. However, less than half of the planned centers were built, and none of them were ever completely funded. Some states saw this as a chance to shut down expensive state mental hospitals without spending the money on the community mental health centers. Over 50 years has passed since CMHA was enacted. The CMHA were a mixed success. Many patients that were kept in asylums were released into the community. However, not many communities had the resources or experience to care for these patients. This led to an increase in homelessness and patients in long term care facilities (Drake, 2012). Focusing on communitybased care remains a focus in the United States mental health care today. Covid has effected this, with telehealth being used more frequently and widely for mental health treatment and the This study source was downloaded by 100000887992939 from CourseHero.com on 07-08-2024 01:30:56 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/158474395/Politics-Discussion-8-1docx/ passage of several temporary and permanent policies regarding telehealth services (Lieneck et al., 2020). In 2008, Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative Patrick Kennedy revised the CMHA with an act that requires health insurers treat mental illness and substance use disorders the same way they would treat any other medical condition (Mulvaneu-Day et al., 2019). There have been great strides in the treatment and care of mental illness in the Unites States, starting with President Kennedy’s vision during his New Frontier Speech. At state and federal levels, additional action is needed to fulfill President Kennedy’s vision of quality, accessible, community-based care. As advanced practice nurses, we can advocate for policies that fund and promote improved mental health care and care for these patients with compassion and dignity. References: Drake, R. E., & Latimer, E. (2012). Lessons learned in developing community mental health care in North America. World psychiatry: official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 11(1), 47–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wpsyc.2012.01.007 Korr M. (2020). October 1963: President Kennedy signs Community Mental Health Act into law; his last legislative signature. Rhode Island Medical Journal (2013), 103(8), 98–99. Lieneck, C., Garvey, J., Collins, C., Graham, D., Loving, C., & Pearson, R. (2020). Rapid telehealth implementation during the COVID-19 global pandemic: A Rapid Review. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 8(4), 517. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040517 This study source was downloaded by 100000887992939 from CourseHero.com on 07-08-2024 01:30:56 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/158474395/Politics-Discussion-8-1docx/ Mulvaney-Day, N., Gibbons, B. J., Alikhan, S., & Karakus, M. (2019). Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the use of outpatient behavioral health services in the United States, 2005-2016. American journal of public health, 109(S3), S190–S196. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305023 This study source was downloaded by 100000887992939 from CourseHero.com on 07-08-2024 01:30:56 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/158474395/Politics-Discussion-8-1docx/ Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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