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Virginia Capitol C onnections, Spring 2015 7
It’s important to reduce the social stigma associated with addiction
issues. Heroin use and abuse of prescription painkillers are problems
that touch all social strata, and it is critical for people to talk about these
issues openly and encourage those who are addicted to seek help.
The Governor’s Task Force on Improving Mental Health Services
and Crisis Response held its final meeting in March. This meeting was
marked by Gov. McAuliffe signing an executive directive to create a
new Center for Behavioral Health and Justice, a recommendation by the
task force. Too often, people with mental and behavioral health issues
end up in front of a judge when what they need most is a doctor. The
center will improve coordination between behavioral health and justice
programs, and help Virginians with behavioral and mental health needs
who are in the justice system get the treatment and health care they need.
The mental health task force also heard an update on the impact of
the changesmade to the civil commitment procedures in 2014 in an effort
to strengthen the crisis response system. More people are seeking help
– between July 2014, when new laws went into effect, and December
2014, there were increases in the numbers of emergency evaluations,
and the number of admissions to state hospitals was 27 percent higher
for adults than in 2013. It’s heartening to note that during that six-month
period, no one was turned away from getting the inpatient care they
needed due to a lack of bed space, and that the changes to the civil
commitment procedures are having a positive effect.
There is also good news to report in the continuing effort to help
military veterans get easier access to health care. In March, Gov.
McAuliffe, Secretary Bill Hazel and Secretary John Harvey met with
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald to
discuss ways that Virginia can partner with the VA to accelerate access
to health care for Virginia veterans. Gov. McAuliffe was the first sitting
governor to meet with Secretary McDonald since his appointment to
lead the VA. The meeting gave the governor and secretaries a chance
to tell Secretary McDonald about the needs of Virginia veterans and
how federal action could help them. Under the new Veterans Choice
Act, veterans living 40 miles or further from a VA facility or waiting
more than 30 days for care at the VA could seek care outside the VA.
But originally, the rule measured 40 miles as the crow flies, rather than
by road miles. The Secretaries shared that the interpretation of this rule
was too strict for some veterans, such as those on the Eastern Shore,
who lived less than 40 miles from aVA facility but still faced significant
transportation barriers in reaching a VA clinic. In late March, the VA
announced it will relax the “40-mile” rule, which should help Virginia
veterans in rural areas of the state. Using road-mile measurements
instead should allow more Virginia veterans to use their VA benefits
without having to drive long distances toVA facilities.
The spring will see the Health and Human Resources secretariat
continue efforts to advance the ‘A Healthy Virginia’ plan and work to
improve the health and well-being of all Virginians.
By William A. Hazel Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Last fall, Gov. Terry McAuliffe launched the “A Healthy Virginia”
plan, a 10-point outline of initiatives to improve the health and lives
of Virginians. Since then, there has been some substantial progress on
several of those points.
As part of the ‘A Healthy Virginia’ plan, Gov. McAuliffe initiated
the Governor’s Access Plan (GAP), a program that offers limited
physical and behavioral health coverage for low-income, uninsured
Virginians with serious mental illness. The plan could help up to 20,000
Virginians with serious mental illness get
the care they desperately need. The strength
of the response is indicative of the need
– as of the end of March, more than 1,700
participants had signed up with the GAP
program, in 125 localities around the state.
It’s clear that this program will help improve
the lives and health of people with the most
severe mental illnesses.
Also in March, Virginia expanded its
Medicaid and FAMIS coverage to provide
dental care services to low-income pregnant
women. This initiative could provide dental care to as many as 45,000
pregnant women in the Medicaid and FAMIS MOMS programs. A
mother with oral health problems can also pass cavity-causing bacteria
on to her baby and is at a higher risk for pre-term delivery. But many
low-income women go through their pregnancies without any dental
care. On March 1, Virginia’s “Smiles for Children” program began
providing dental benefits to these pregnant women, improving the
likelihood of a healthy delivery and baby.
The General Assembly this winter approved four of six bills
proposed by the governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin
Abuse. These bills will help address the fast-growing problem of heroin
and prescription painkiller abuse and overdose in the Commonwealth,
by allowing more first responders to administer overdose-reversing
medications; providing civil immunity for those professionals who
administer that medication; requiring hospices to notify those who
prescribe medications when a patient has died; and encouraging greater
registration with the Prescription Monitoring Program.
The task force continues to work to find ways to reduce the
misuse and abuse of these powerful painkillers and of heroin. Opioid
abuse is reaching epidemic levels nationwide and is a spreading and
serious problem in Virginia. Since 2000, deaths from prescription
painkiller abuse in Virginia more than doubled. Between 2011 and
2013 alone, heroin-related deaths in Virginia nearly doubled. Often,
people who are addicted to prescription painkillers are turning to
heroin because it has similar effects yet is cheaper and easier to get
than are prescription opioids.
COVER PHOTOGRAPH
A large equestrian statue of George Washington atop a granite pedestal is located just northwest of
the Capitol at the formal entrance to the square. This monument was conceived to honor Washington
and to glorify Virginia’s contributions to independence. Virginia's role in the Revolution is depicted
by six of her sons surrounding General Washington, who is dressed in a military uniform. Smaller
allegorical figures below the six pedestrian statues are inscribed with themes reflecting each
patriot's contribution: Andrew Lewis, Colonial Times; Patrick Henry, Revolution; George Mason,
Bill of Rights; Thomas Jefferson, Independence; Thomas Nelson, Finance; and John Marshall,
Justice. American sculptor Thomas Crawford designed the monument. The cornerstone was laid
on Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1850, and the Washington statue was unveiled on February
22, 1858. Crawford died in 1857 after completing the statues of Washington, Jefferson and Henry.
His American colleague Randolph Rogers executed the statues of Mason, Marshall, Nelson, and
Lewis, as well as the allegorical figures, the last of which was put into place in 1869. -
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A Healthy Virginia: Improving Access To Care