mental health care

Wyoming leads the nation for suicide deaths per capita. A bill hopes to address that fact and is slowly moving through the legislature. It would permanently establish the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line in Wyoming, establish quality standards and potentially provide some kind of funding.

The facilities will allow Volunteers of American to provide additional services and enhance their existing ones as the demand for them has risen. These include mental and behavioral health treatment, housing assistance for low-income and the homeless, addiction treatment, and transitional veterans housing, among other human services. The facilities are set to be completed in 2024. VOA also serves residents in all 23 Wyoming counties.

The funds come from the State Loan and Investment Board in the form of grants, which will allow for more comprehensive and intensive mental and behavioral health services to be offered locally to Sheridan and Johnson counties. The triage facility will be created by retrofitting existing hospital facilities to be better able to care for those experiencing different medical issues.

A $5.9 million grant from the state will help establish an Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, Healing (EmPATH) and a Crisis Stabilization Unit for Sheridan County and the surrounding area. Currently, there are no emergency facilities to deal with those in a mental health crisis, who are sometimes transferred long distances for treatment.

The Wyoming Department of Health is in the progress of reorienting its priority populations in the mental health sector. The department director Stefan Johansson said this reform was needed as the financial support for behavioral health continues to grow. Wyoming Public Radio’s Kamila Kudelska asked Johansson how the state decided reforming mental health was needed.

Next week, Governor Mark Gordon will be hosting the Governor’s Mental Health Summit in Casper. The summit is for all mental health stakeholders in the state.Stefan Johansson, Wyoming Department of Health director, said it’s important to get a wider group of stakeholders involved in mental health reform.

The state legislature allocated $25,000 of the budget to address high rates of suicides among first responders in the state. This money was taken by the Wyoming Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) and utilized to create the first ever First Responders Health and Wellness Conference that will take place August 22-24 in Casper. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska spoke with POST executive director Chris Walsh on why the conference is needed.

It's Mental Health Awareness Month and to discuss that we are joined by Dr. David Martorano who is the Director of Adult Psychiatric Services at the Wyoming Behavioral Institute in Casper. He's a specialist in addictions and he discusses some of the challenges facing mental health care in Wyoming

The Sheridan VA Medical Center will now be able to better address the needs of older veterans with mental health or age-related dementia challenges.…