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Elder Abuse and Mental Health: Victims, Perpetrators, and Potential for Change
Elder abuse is increasing in the United States (US) as more Americans age and become vulnerable to various forms of mistreatment (Chang & Levy, 2021). This kind of abuse can have significant effects on mental health, not only for older victims but for perpetrators of abuse,...
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Complexities in Caring for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement
It has been widely reported that individuals with chronic behavioral health conditions experience significantly diminished life expectancies (Chesney et al., 2014). This tragic phenomenon may be attributed, at least in part, to comorbid medical conditions commonly associated with the aging process....
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Fountain House’s Silver Center for Older Adults: It Takes a Village to “Live Long and Prosper” with Behavioral Health Challenges
What’s in a name? Just as age 60 is supposedly the new 40, the silver hair on older heads is now apparently worth its weight in gold. However, the “silver” in Silver Center refers to the respect certain cultures, such as the Japanese, confer on their elders. So, when you read about the...
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Aging Vision: How Social Workers Can Help Address Vision Loss
What happens to someone who wakes up one morning and can no longer see? It could happen to any of us at any time – clinician or client. Stoic wisdom might suggest that one prepares for loss by imagining it has already happened and resolving to accept the change, to embrace life fully, whatever...
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We’re in a Mental Health Crisis. Why Do We Refuse to Help People with Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia?
90% of our country believes we are facing a mental health crisis.1 And whenever there is a tragic incident in New York City, our City and State say that yet another person with schizophrenia has fallen through the cracks.2 We have a solution staring us in the face which can help alleviate...
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Time to Confront the Challenges of an Aging America
America is aging rapidly.1 Over the next few decades, the proportion of adults 65 and older will come to exceed the proportion of children under 18 – an historic first.2 And as the number of older adults grows from approximately 56 million at the beginning of this decade to 85 million in 2050,3...
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Community Mental Health Promotion and Support Team Helps Older Adults Thrive
CEC Health Care operates a Community Mental Health Promotion and Support (COMHPS) team that provides emotional support, wellness activities, screenings, and referrals to treatment in Western Nassau County. A multi-disciplinary team of licensed mental health professionals and paraprofessionals seeks...
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The Mental Health Association of Westchester and The Mental Health Association of Rockland Merge and Rebrand as Greater Mental Health of New York
The Mental Health Association of Westchester and The Mental Health Association of Rockland announced the completion of their merger and the new name of their combined organization: Greater Mental Health of New York, Inc. The merger increases the size and scope of integrated, person-centered...
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We Can Break the Cycle of Preventable Emergency Room Visits and Improve Patients’ Lives
In New York State, almost half (48%) of emergency room visits are for routine, non-emergency care offered by community health providers or are otherwise preventable. These visits disrupt patients’ lives and strain limited hospital resources. Moreover, communication gaps between hospitals and...
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AI and Home Care: Navigating Challenges and Embracing Innovation to Meet Growing Needs
We are on the brink of a significant transformation in healthcare, driven by two converging crises: an aging population and an overburdened workforce. As the number of elderly individuals requiring care continues to grow, the home care sector faces unprecedented challenges due to high staff burnout...
