Archives: Press Releases

Press Release on health-related topics.

TFAH and WBT: The Nation Must Heed Calls for Help, We Must do More to Prevent Deaths of Despair

Washington D.C., and Oakland, Calif., June 14 – In response to new data showing nearly 1 in 3 high school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, Benjamin F. Miller, Psy.D., Chief Strategy Officer, Well Being Trust, and John Auerbach, President and CEO, Trust for America’s Health, issued the following statement:

“It is tragic to see the latest indication that deaths of despair are increasing at a rapid rate, but, sadly, it’s not surprising. The drumbeat of data over the past six months supports our recent research suggesting that over the next decade there could be 2 million deaths from drug and alcohol misuse and suicide.

This latest report must lead to action. With tragic news seemingly occurring weekly, these data threaten to desensitize us to this crisis. We know how to stop this. In our Pain in the Nation report, we called for the creation of a National Resilience Strategy that takes a comprehensive approach by focusing on prevention, early identification of issues and effective treatment – and we highlighted more than 60 policies, programs and initiatives that can get us there.

Specifically, to prevent suicides, we must better integrate mental health into primary care, increase access to appropriate and affordable treatment, reduce the conditions that lead people to consider suicide and expand, knit together, and increase funding for:

  • Crisis intervention services;
  • Anti-bullying and social-emotional learning in schools;
  • Support systems for veterans;
  • Campaigns that normalize mental health conversations;
  • Programs that teach effective coping, problem solving and parenting skills; and
  • Suicide risk training for health professionals.

One example that combines a lot of these elements is the Zero Suicide Model, which utilizes a comprehensive approach involving screening, provision of services and a reduction of risk factors. It requires primary care doctors to screen every patient during every visit with two questions: How often have you felt down in the past two weeks? And how often have you felt little pleasure in doing things?

High scores lead to further questions about sleep disturbances, changes in appetite and/or thoughts of hurting oneself. Providers must indicate on each patient’s medical record that they completed the screening – and, when they recognize a mental health problem, assign patients to appropriate care, which could include cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, group counseling or new care models such as same-day psychiatric evaluations, drop-in group therapy visits, and hospitalization, if necessary. Hospital staff are also trained to ensure that patients who need follow-up care do not leave without an appointment, and to conduct follow-up telephone calls. Additionally, providers partner with patients and families to limit access to guns and other lethal means of suicide.

The model, originally adopted by the Henry Ford Health System’s Behavioral Health Services division in 2001, led to an 80 percent reduction in suicide among Henry Ford HMO members -and this reduction continues today even as the overall suicide rate in Michigan and across the country increases.

As a nation, we must do better and we must be better for our neighbors and family. Enough is enough. It’s time to increase investments in programs that prevent suicide and demand that our elected officials – across all levels of government – create and fund policies that will ensure everyone can realize their fullest potential.”

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Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.  Twitter: @HealthyAmerica1

Well Being Trust is a national foundation dedicated to advancing the mental, social and spiritual health of the nation. Created to include participation from organizations across sectors and perspectives, Well Being Trust is committed to innovating and addressing the most critical mental health challenges facing America, and to transforming individual and community wellness. http://wellbeingtrust.org/. Twitter: @WellBeingTrust

TFAH Applauds the Introduction of the Bipartisan Pandemic And All-Hazards Preparedness And Advancing Innovation Act—But Improvements Can Be Made

Washington, D.C., May 22, 2018 – The following is a statement from John Auerbach, President and CEO, of Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) on the introduction of the Senate HELP Committee’s Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation (PAHPAI) Act:

“We applaud the Senate introduction of the bipartisan Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act and urge the Senate to pass the bill.

As we mark the 100-year anniversary of the devastating 1918 flu pandemic, it is a stark reminder of how important preparedness is and how far we’ve come.

While we are much better prepared than we were a century — or even 17 years — ago, some important gaps remain. The nation needs to better prepare our healthcare system for disasters and unusual outbreaks and ensure thoughtful planning occurs for community members who could be at higher risk during disasters, such as older adults, children and people with complex health conditions.

And, the nation must be better at moving vaccines and other lifesaving medications from initial research all the way through to dispensing.

The bill also addresses the needs of the public health sector.  It would formally integrate public health into decision-making around the medical products in development for major health threats.

The bill also clarifies the role of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in preparing public health departments for disasters and gives CDC tools to improve biosurveillance capabilities to detect new threats.

And, taking lessons learned from Ebola cases, the bill helps develop specialized hospitals that are capable of responding to extraordinary outbreaks.

While the bill fills many of the existing gaps, TFAH is concerned that authorized funding levels included in this bill are inadequate compared to the scope of the threat. The devastation that we saw this year due to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Texas and Florida, the wildfires in California and the severe flu season throughout the nation illustrate the importance of creating effective and well-prepared public health and healthcare systems. TFAH is also concerned the bill does not go far enough in creating and funding a standing emergency fund to ensure timely response to major public health threats.

Health security is key to our national security, and we are pleased the Senate bill reflects that fact. We look forward to working with policymakers to ensure PAHPAI is as strong as possible — and we are adequately safeguarding all of our nation’s residents.”

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Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.

New “Pain in the Nation” Issue Brief Focuses on How Healthcare Systems Can Help Address and Prevent Deaths of Despair

Washington, D.C., May 17, 2018 –Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Well Being Trust (WBT) released Pain in the Nation: Healthcare Systems Brief, which focuses on how healthcare systems can help address the deaths of despair due to drug and alcohol misuse and suicide.

According to the brief, hospital stays for mental health and/or substance use were the only categories of hospitalizations that increased from 2005 to 2014.  Between 2009 and 2014, opioid-related inpatient stays increased 64 percent while emergency department visits doubled—placing hospitals and health systems on the front lines in providing and/or linking patients to behavioral health services and integrating mental health services across systems.

To address these issues, the brief recommends healthcare systems apply a careful systems approach that focuses on preventive interventions, clinical care and behavioral health services—building a “whole health” approach with integrated and linked programs.

The brief follows the release of the national report and projections: Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol and Suicide Epidemics and the Need for a National Resilience Strategy, which found that, in 2016, 142,000 Americans—one every four minutes—died from the diseases of despair and two additional briefs focused on the education sector and an updated data analysis finding that—while drug overdoses were still highest among Whites in 2016—there were disproportionately large increases in drug deaths among racial/ethnic minority groups.

“Healthcare systems are often in a unique place to bring about clinical change that can impact countless individuals seeking care,” said Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD, Chief Strategy Officer, Well Being Trust. “We need better integration within healthcare so that people seeking help for mental health and addiction can have their needs met in a more seamless and timely fashion. Trying harder is not going to be enough – we need systems level change.”

The Pain in the Nation: Healthcare Systems Brief provides extensive recommendations that will enhance behavioral health services:

Better care integration and coordination—Many providers have never been trained in suicide prevention and lack the confidence to effectively deal with suicide. And, while behavioral health services have long operated in their own silo apart from the traditional medical care systems, systems and providers should continue to shift towards an integrated or “whole health” mentality to ensure coordinated medical and behavioral healthcare services and systems.

Boosting medication-assisted treatment—Enhancing behavioral health services requires ensuring providers are employing up-to-date treatments that have been proven clinically effective, notably medication-assisted treatment (MAT)—the use of FDA-approved medications in combination with therapy to treat substance use disorders. In addition to being clinically effective, MAT also makes fiscal sense. A 2015 study found that treatment of opioid dependence with methadone and buprenorphine was associated with $153 to $223 lower total healthcare expenditures per month than behavioral health treatment without MAT.

Improve pain treatment and management practices—Evidenced-based strategies should be used to better address pain. Healthcare providers have a responsibility to ensure they are working with their patients on increasing overall functionality and quality of life in ways that do not leave their patients vulnerable to substance misuse. Healthcare systems should develop practices that require physicians to treat pain responsibly, including:  guidelines on appropriate opioid prescribing; training healthcare providers to identify early signs of opioid use disorders; and strengthening prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) and other tools to detect misuse.

Foster community partnerships—Prevention efforts are most effective when multiple sectors in a community work together to support prevention and identify at-risk community members to ensure they receive the support and services they need. For example, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Community Health Improvement created four coalitions focused on take-back programs, naloxone distribution, connections to treatment through recovery coaches, and screening all patients for substance misuse. In one neighborhood, Emergency Medical Services responses for heroin overdoses decreased 62 percent over a seven-year period.

Screening for substance misuse, suicide and mental health issues—Healthcare systems should coordinate with schools and other community partners to implement screening and provide access to treatment for individuals identified as at-risk for substance misuse, suicide or other mental health concerns. Systems also play a role in supporting evidence-based primary prevention efforts in their community—including social-emotional learning programs.

Reduce access to lethal suicide means—Healthcare systems can encourage providers to counsel patients to safely store both firearms and medications. One method, the Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) at Children’s Hospital Colorado, found that parents of children being treated for suicide risk who were educated about safe storage of medications and guns made significant changes in their behavior. Additionally, take back programs can help prevent drug misuse.

Ensuring people have better access to behavioral health providers—A successful behavioral healthcare system requires sufficient providers. Currently, 55 percent of U.S. counties do not have any practicing behavioral health workers and 77 percent report unmet behavioral health needs. While it is incredibly difficult to close this gap, the nation should focus on innovative interventions—including telehealth—to ensure people have better access to the health providers they need to be well.

“By prioritizing prevention, working together and improving behavioral health services, healthcare systems can help mitigate the devastating crises of drug overdoses, alcohol-related fatalities and suicides,” said John Auerbach, president and CEO of TFAH.  “Healthcare systems can and should advocate for the policies and resources necessary—both within and beyond the clinical setting—to reduce alcohol, drug and suicide deaths among their patients.”

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Trust for America‘s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.  Twitter: @HealthyAmerica1

Well Being Trust is a national foundation dedicated to advancing the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation. Created to include participation from organizations across sectors and perspectives, Well Being Trust is committed to innovating and addressing the most critical mental health challenges facing America, and to transforming individual and community wellness. www.wellbeingtrust.org. Twitter: @WellBeingTrust

Tougher SNAP rules worry providers

April 14, 2018
by Steven Ross Johnson
Modern Healthcare

“While immediate savings may seem beneficial now, they will evaporate quickly when the nation gets the bill for poor health and nutrition, John Auerbach, president and CEO for Trust for America’s Health, said in a written statement.

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The Draft House Farm Bill Will Harm Nation’s Most Vulnerable

Washington, D.C., April 12, 2018 – The below is a statement from John Auerbach, president and CEO, of Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) on release of “Farm Bill” draft legislation (the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2)) to reauthorize key federal agricultural and nutrition programs.

“The Trust for America’s Health is seriously concerned about the draft Farm Bill legislation released today by the House Agriculture Committee, noting that many proposals could weaken or eliminate coverage and benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

While immediate savings may seem beneficial now, they will evaporate quickly when the nation gets the bill for poor health and nutrition. In addition, when children are hungry they do more poorly in schools and, when adults are under-nourished, they are less productive in their jobs.   As such, SNAP and other nutrition assistance programs can help curb healthcare costs in the future while providing immediate economic benefits to communities.

Increasingly, states, cities and other partners are piloting and scaling programs and policies that help SNAP recipients access healthier food options. Proposals that would roll back eligibility and otherwise shrink enrollment will create new health risks for a population of Americans that are already at greater risk of malnutrition. And, without nutrition supplemental programs like SNAP there may actually be increases in obesity because families will be forced to buy the least expensive food, which are often filled with excess calories and have low nutritional value.

According to State of Obesity, obesity remains a significant public health crisis and a national security issue—being overweight or obese is the leading cause of medical disqualifications for military service, with nearly one-quarter of applicants being rejected for exceeding the weight or body fat standards.

Quite simply, while this legislation will directly harm our nation’s most valuable and vulnerable, everyone will shoulder the pain—from lack of education attainment to lack of economic development to lack of national security.

TFAH looks forward to working with Congress and partners to help develop a Farm Bill that will benefit, not harm, Americans’ health.”

Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.

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U.S. Opioid ODs Cluster in Centers of Poverty

March 26, 2018
by Steven Reinberg
U.S. News & World Report/HealthDay

“There is a strong correlation between drug use and overdoses and social and economic factors in the lives of people,” said Auerbach, who wasn’t connected to the study. “As we grapple with opioids, we have to think about more than just treatment and overdose, we also need to think about the social determinants of drug addiction and overdose.”

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Leading AIDS Researcher Selected as CDC Director

March 21, 2018
by Mike Stobbe
New York Times/Associated Press

John Auerbach, president of Trust for America’s Health, a Washington, D.C. based public health research and advocacy organization, said: “The most important thing is his ability to go into the agency, get up to speed, and make the case for CDC and its vitally important work. If he’s able to do that, ultimately that’s how his leadership will be judged.”

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Longtime AIDS researcher Robert Redfield picked to lead CDC

March 21, 2018
by Lena Sun
Washington Post

“You want someone leading the organization who has been tested,” John Auerbach, president and chief executive of Trust for America’s Health, a public health nonprofit, said late last week. “You wouldn’t want them to spend a year of their lives learning about the agency they’re overseeing. In a crisis, we need someone who can hit the ground running.”

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