SOUTH BEND Mental illness affects 60 million Americans, or one in four, every year, and 13 million people live with a serious mental illness. To help people better understand the issue, Congress established Mental Illness Awareness Week in 1990. Since then, organizations across the country, including locally, have recognized the campaign.

Oak Lawn serves 16,000 clients in St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties combined. The facility provides both inpatient and outpatient treatment options, including help from hundreds of case managers and therapists in the community. This week, the foundation partnered with area organizations to bring awareness to mental illness.

"It's important that we face it. That we make sure that we give people the opportunity to talk about it, that we provide them with the appropriate support, that if they need help we get them the help they need", said Matthew Lentsch, the Executive Director at Oak Lawn.

Lentsch and his colleagues want October 5-11 to be about talking. Their hope is to break the stigma and encourage more people who need it to seek treatment.

"We're very prone if we have heart surgery to show our scars. If we have a broken leg to go to the hospital, but not so much when we're not feeling well," said Lentsch. "Stigma is a major barrier for people getting help and wanting to talk about it."

Some have found the arts to be therapeutic to those suffering from mental illness, and a local man has made it his mission to cater to vulnerable populations. Matthew Stackowicz started The Darkroom Project in 2010, while he was living in Yemen. He used photography to help Somali refugees find their voice. He continued the project in South Bend in 2012 and has worked with ex-felons and the homeless. Now, he's helping those coping with various diseases to use photography to express themselves.

"It helps them explore different aspects of their life and what they struggle with and what they find joy in," said Stackowicz. "We help people tell their story."

For more information about Oak Lawn's services, click here.

To learn more about NAMI, click here.

Anderson is also working with several others to re-establish the Club House, formerly affiliated with the Madison Center, as an independent center. Club House is expected to open in the fall of 2017 and will provide outpatient services.

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Mental illness affects millions

By MIKE STOBBE and CONNIE CASS Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. died Wednesday despite intense but delayed treatment, and the government announced it was expanding airport examinations to guard against the spread of the deadly disease.

The checks will include taking the temperatures of hundreds of travelers arriving from West Africa at five major American airports.

The new screenings will begin Saturday at New York's JFK International Airport and then expand to Washington Dulles and the international airports in Atlanta, Chicago and Newark. An estimated 150 people per day will be checked, using high-tech thermometers that don't touch the skin.

The White House said the fever checks would reach more than 9 of 10 travelers to the U.S. from the three heaviest-hit countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

President Barack Obama called the measures "really just belt and suspenders" to support protections already in place. Border Patrol agents now look for people who are obviously ill, as do flight crews, and in those cases the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is notified.

It's unlikely a fever check would have spotted Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died of Ebola in a Dallas hospital Wednesday morning. Duncan wasn't yet showing symptoms when he arrived in the U.S.

A delay in diagnosing and treating Duncan, and the infection of a nurse who treated an Ebola patient in Spain, have raised worries about Western nations' ability to stop the disease that has killed at least 3,800 people in West Africa.

Speaking by teleconference with mayors and local officials, Obama said he was confident the U.S. could prevent an outbreak. But he warned them to be vigilant.

"As we saw in Dallas, we don't have a lot of margin for error," Obama said. "If we don't follow protocols and procedures that are put in place, then we're putting folks in our communities at risk."

Continue reading here:
US Ebola patient dies; airport screening expanded

A man hospitalized after being attacked by bees in Hearne on Tuesday morning has been upgraded to fair condition.

Clark Rudy, 56, had been mowing the lawn near the C&C Secure Self Storage facility in the 800 block of West Brown Street at about 11 a.m. when the bees attacked, Hearne police said.

He was airlifted to St. Joseph hospital in critical condition, but a Hearne police dispatcher said Rudy was awake and communicating through written notes on Wednesday.

A paramedic who responded to the call on Tuesday morning was also treated, but a shift captain with Robertson County EMS said that person was doing well.

The area around the storage facility and an abandoned hotel were roped off Tuesday, and beekeepers from Moody Ranch Outfitters in Anderson vacuumed up the bees Wednesday morning.

Representatives at Moody Ranch Outfitters did not respond to requests for comment, but the website said the company relocates bees to its ranch in Grimes County instead of killing them.

Bill Baxter, the state's assistant chief apiary inspector, said beekeepers typically vacuum the bees and use smoke to pacify them.

While police have not revealed what kinds of bees were involved or where their colony was located, Baxter said bees can be found inside walls and even in a hole in the ground.

"The public needs to realize that this was an isolated incident, and the one thing I always tell people is before you crank up the lawn mower, walk around the yard and be aware of what's there," he said.

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Man on the mend after bee attack in Hearne

Oct. 8, 2014, 4 a.m.

A NEW program designed to save people from dying of a heart attack has assisted 35 people in western NSW in the first six months of its operation.

SAVING LIVES: Estelle Ryan CNC Cardiology, Cardiologist Dr Ruth Arnold, paramedics Claire Green and Adam Parker, Anne Morrison NUM ICU and Coronary Care and bypass patient Terry Babbage with the lifesaving ECG machine. Photo: PHILL MURRAY

A NEW program designed to save people from dying of a heart attack has assisted 35 people in western NSW in the first six months of its operation.

The Pre-Hospital Lysis program is a statewide system which enables paramedics to send an ECG directly to a cardiologist as soon as they suspect a heart attack.

This gives the patient immediate access to a cardiac specialist, for diagnosis. If a heart attack is confirmed, paramedics can give immediate life saving treatment (Lysis), wherever the patient may be.

Western NSW Local Health District Cardiologist Dr Ruth Arnold said its this early diagnosis that can improve the chance of recovery and survival in heart attack patients, which is especially important in rural and remote areas.

Time is crucial when it comes to diagnosing and treating a heart attack successfully, she said.

Once a heart attack is confirmed by the ECG, the paramedics can provide appropriate treatment in the form of Lysis or thrombolysis (clot busting medication to dissolve the blockage in the coronary artery), before the patient is transported to the best place for their further care and treatment.

This treatment is most effective if given within the first 60 minutes of a heart attack. In some rural areas it can take 30 to 60 minutes to even get a patient to the closest hospital. This program makes each ambulance a mobile coronary treatment unit and brings specialist care to the patient, Dr Arnold said.

Continued here:
Program has saved 35 people

Image via shutterstock.com

Our front lawn is an eyesore. Its an ugly mixture of weeds, a few light-green blades of grass and mostly dirt, and although that combination may be somewhat more acceptable now that Los Angeles is in the midst of our drought, its been like that for years. No question that landscaping is a low priority for us.

With a teenage son with serious developmental disabilities, our limited resources of time and money are often spent taking care of him and paying for experts, such as weekly sessions with a private speech therapist, or for a babysitter, because he still requires adult supervision and assistance at all times.

Like many parents of children and teens with special needs or chronic health conditions, the problem of a time deficit isnt just about the actual hands-on time its also the brainpower that goes into planning ahead, problem solving, plus a fair amount of anxiety and worrying.

It turns out theres actual science at work here. In a recent article called Rethinking Poverty by Elisabeth D. Babcock in the online Stanford Social Innovation Review, Babcock talks about how recent discoveries in brain science can help us understand barriers low-income families (and, by extension, others who are dealing with chronically stressful situations) face in trying to get ahead.

Babcock writes, According to an emerging body of brain science, the stresses that come with being poor negatively affect the strategic thinking and self-regulation skills that people need in order to break the poverty cycle. These skills, known as executive function (EF) skills, are fundamental to our ability to solve problems, to multitask, to juggle priorities, to control impulses, to delay gratification, and to persist in the pursuit of goals.

Other recent discoveries in brain science demonstrate that stress compromises memory, making it harder for people to remember several things at one time. Constant stress can also make it more difficult for people to maintain mental flexibility, to shift back and forth between potential approaches to solving problems, and to weigh the future implications of current decisions.

At Babcocks anti-poverty agency, Crittenton Womens Union in Boston, the staff helps clients cope with what she calls the bandwidth tax of living a highly stressful life by providing them with trained, individualized coaches who help them create new decision-making strategies and, in turn, boost their internal executive function competence.

Previous disability-related studies showed that mothers of teens and adults with autism experience a level of chronic stress comparable to combat soldiers and struggle with frequent fatigue and work interruptions. These mothers also spend significantly more time caregiving than those of children without disabilities. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison detailed the daily experiences of mothers of adolescent and adult children with autism over a period of eight successive days. On four of those days, the researchers measured the womens levels of cortisol, a hormone released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. Their levels of the hormone were found to be significantly lower than normal, a condition that occurs under constant psychological stress.

So, what can be done to reduce this chronic stress burden? Aside from hiring a coach to help retrain the over-stressed brain, other emerging strategies use a peer-directed, meditation-oriented approach to reduce parental stress, anxiety and depression among mothers who have a child with a developmental disability.

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Your brain on stress

Oct. 8, 2014, 4 a.m.

A new program designed to save people from dying of a heart attack has assisted 35 people in western NSW.

SAVING LIVES: Estelle Ryan CNC Cardiology, Cardiologist Dr Ruth Arnold, paramedics Claire Green and Adam Parker, Anne Morrison NUM ICU and Coronary Care and bypass patient Terry Babbage with the lifesaving ECG machine. Photo: PHILL MURRAY 100714pheart

A NEW program designed to save people from dying of a heart attack has assisted 35 people in western NSW in the first six months of its operation.

The Pre-Hospital Lysis program is a statewide system which enables paramedics to send an ECG directly to a cardiologist as soon as they suspect a heart attack.

This gives the patient immediate access to a cardiac specialist, for diagnosis. If a heart attack is confirmed, paramedics can give immediate life saving treatment (Lysis), wherever the patient may be.

Western NSW Local Health District Cardiologist Dr Ruth Arnold said its this early diagnosis that can improve the chance of recovery and survival in heart attack patients, which is especially important in rural and remote areas.

Time is crucial when it comes to diagnosing and treating a heart attack successfully, she said.

Once a heart attack is confirmed by the ECG, the paramedics can provide appropriate treatment in the form of Lysis or thrombolysis (clot busting medication to dissolve the blockage in the coronary artery), before the patient is transported to the best place for their further care and treatment.

This treatment is most effective if given within the first 60 minutes of a heart attack. In some rural areas it can take 30 to 60 minutes to even get a patient to the closest hospital. This program makes each ambulance a mobile coronary treatment unit and brings specialist care to the patient, Dr Arnold said.

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New medical program a heartfelt success

A man had to be airlifted to the hospital after being attacked by a swarm of bees Tuesday morning, Hearne police said.

The man, whose name and age have not been released pending notification of next of kin, had been mowing the lawn near a self-storage facility in the 800 block of West Brown Street at about 11 a.m. when the bees attacked, authorities said.

Firefighters were able to get the bees away by hosing the man down with soap and water before taking him to St. Joseph hospital in Bryan in critical condition, said Sgt. Stephen Yohner with Hearne police.

Yohner said the loud noise from the lawn mower may have disrupted the bees that overcame the man.

Authorities diverted traffic away from the area for about an hour-and-a-half, but the self-storage facility and a nearby abandoned hotel were roped off until beekeepers were called in. As a precaution, school officials kept students indoors for the rest of the day.

Meredith Neely, who works across the street, said she was on the phone when she heard the sirens.

"I got up and looked out the window, and I could see the owner over there with hands all around his head, slapping his face," she said.

Neely described the incident as a "wild scene for a little bit because [the bees] were going after the emergency people too."

Authorities did not say what kind of bees were involved but a Texas A&M agriculture professor said they were likely honey bees because "they're the only social bees around."

Juliana Rangel, who also oversees the Honey Bee Lab at A&M, said bees are disturbed by vibrations or extreme weather conditions.

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Man critical after attack by bee swarm

CORONA, Calif. After a California fire crew treated a man who collapsed while mowing his lawn, firefighters sent him to the hospital. But then they finished the yard work themselves on Wednesday morning.

The sweet story was posted to the Corona Fire Departments Facebook page with a photo of two crew members sweeping up grass clippings on a residential sidewalk.

Serving our City with Pride, the Facebook post read.

KTLA reports that the crew from Engine 1 was responding to a call about a resident who lost consciousness while mowing his lawn, according to the post. First responders provided ALS treatment and sent the male patient to the hospital in an ambulance, the post stated, apparently referring to advanced life support service.

Firefighters stayed while the mans wife and baby prepared to go to the hospital, cleaning up and putting away the lawn mower, Fire Departments spokeswoman Lynn Mata said.

Local Corona resident loses consciousness while mowing his lawn.

We do that a lot. We look after our community its pretty tightly knit, Mata said.

The patient lost consciousness for unknown reasons then fell, injuring his nose and bloodying himself in the process, Mata said. He was treated and transported but was in pretty good shape after the 11 a.m. emergency response, she said.

The incident followed a similar heart-warming in Santa Barbara over the weekend.

In that incident, firefighters trimmed an elderly womans vegetation after she was injured by tripping over shrubbery.

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After taking man to hospital, firefighters finish patients yard work

Saturday, October 4, 2014 - 12:51pm

Corona, CA (KTLA) After Corona Fire Department crew treated a man who collapsed while mowing his lawn, firefighters sent him to the hospital and finished the yard work themselves on Wednesday morning.

The sweet story was posted to the Fire Department's Facebook page with a photo of two crew members sweeping up grass clippings on a residential sidewalk.

"Serving our City with Pride," the Facebook post read.

The crew from Engine 1 was responding to a call about a resident who lost consciousness while mowing his lawn, according to the post. First responders provided "ALS treatment" and sent the male patient to the hospital in an ambulance, the post stated, apparently referring to advanced life support service.

Firefighters stayed while the man's wife and baby prepared to go to the hospital, cleaning up and putting away the lawn mower, Fire Departments spokeswoman Lynn Mata said.

"We do that a lot. We look after our community it's pretty tightly knit," Mata said.

The patient lost consciousness for unknown reasons then fell, injuring his nose and bloodying himself in the process, Mata said. He was treated and transported but was "in pretty good shape" after the 11 a.m. emergency response, she said.

The incident followed a similar heart-warming in Santa Barbara over the weekend.

In that incident, firefighters trimmed an elderly woman's vegetation after she was injured by tripping over shrubbery.

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After Emergency Medical Call, Corona Firefighters Finish Patient's Yard Work

Ask A Native New Yorker: Should I Be Scared To Ask My Landlord To Repair My Super Cheap Apartment?

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