President's Message April 2011
Dear NARMH Member:
Thank you for continuing to support NARMH.
NARMH Board Elections
If you are interested in running for the NARMH Board of Directors, the
deadline to apply is April 15, 2011. More information can be found on
the NARMH website at www.narmh.org
regarding the Board elections.
2011 Winter Board Meeting and Hill and Agency
Visits
The NARMH Board gathered in Washington D.C. January 24-26 to conduct our
annual Winter Board Meeting. Part of our agenda included educating
Congress and the Senate members and their Aids as to issues that are
important to the rural mental health community. Board members went to the
Hill and visited with their respective State Congress and Senate members and
their aids and provided information about the NARMH legislative agenda.
Reports from Board Members indicated that legislation aids appreciated the
information and thanked us for bring attention to key provisions the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act and Mental Health Parity and Addiction
Equity Act that have potential to impact rural mental health services.
Rural Mental Health Journal
Other Board action involved approval of moving the Journal of Rural
Mental Health to an on-line format. The change will enable more
convenient access to the Journal for members as well as raise the visibility
of the Journal and NARMH. In addition to saving money, the new online
platform enables our new Journal editors and those interested in submitting
articles and manuscripts an easier way to manage the process.
Look for additional information about this move on our website, in future
emails and in the newsletters.
Policy Institute
In other news, NARMH was a Policy Partner Sponsor for the National Rural
Health Association 2011 Rural Health Policy Institute. The Policy
Institute brings together rural health stakeholders to address policy issues
and provide a forum for the rural perspective. At the conference, NARMH
sponsored a breakout session on Rural Mental Health Parity and Reform. Dr.
William Hudock, Senior Public Health Advisor in SAMHSA’s Center for Mental
Health Services, and Board Member Roger Hannan, from Illinois discussed key
provisions of Mental Health Parity and Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act and their implication for rural health and behavioral health care
at the Federal, State and Local levels. Remember you voice does count
so stay engaged with members of Congress and continue to inform them about
issues that are impacting you as providers and administrators of rural
mental health programs.
2011 NARMH Annual Conference - Dubuque, Iowa
The 2011 NARMH Annual Conference will be held June 22-25 in Dubuque,
Iowa. NARMH is partnering with AgriWellness for this joint conference.
You can find more information regarding the conference and also register
online at www.narmh.org.
Consumer Scholarships for NARMH Conference
NARMH with support from the Center for Mental Health Services will be
offering consumer scholarships for the 2011 NARMH & AgriWellness Annual
Conference. The purpose of the scholarships is to foster
transformation of mental health care to focus on recovery. NARMH has a
limited number of consumer scholarships available. Please Note: To be
eligible, the individual must be a rural mental health consumer, a U.S.
citizen, agree to submit the necessary follow-up forms at the end of the
conference, and submit the completed application and letter of
recommendation by May 1, 2011. You can download the application from the
NARMH conference website at www.narmh.org.
Rick Peterson
NARMH President