mental health

During the last 15 years, the number of opioids sold in this country has quadrupled, contributing to an epidemic of addiction and overdose that has ravaged communities in New Hampshire and across the country. 

A major political controversy broke last week when state officials accused Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital of failing to live up to the terms of a contract to run the state psychiatric hospital.

Every day, an email goes out to leaders in New Hampshire’s mental health system. It gives an updated count on the number of people in immediate need of inpatient psychiatric care, but are being denied that care because of a shortage of beds in New Hampshire hospitals.

On February 20th of this year, that email contained a staggering number: 68 adults and children were being housed in hospital emergency rooms and hallways because of a lack of available beds. It was a new high.

After a private tour of Concord Hospital’s emergency department, which on one day in February had 22 patients awaiting psychiatric services in a space designed for 6, Governor Sununu told reporters New Hampshire needs as many as 50 new beds for mental health patients, but he wants to create a mental health system where demand is less.

The Internet, social media, and increased awareness both help and hinder eating disorder treatment and management. And now, as more men and pre-teens are diagnosed with eating disorders, approaches toward resolving these problems are constantly evolving.

Many people struggle with basic questions about gender and labels, including the concept of a transgender identity. While debate around recent legislation has brought the issue into the spotlight, social media and the internet have played a key role in shifting the culture's perspective on gender for several years.

On this edition of The Exchange, we'll look at the terms, the biology, and the emotional aspects of gender identity.

Portsmouth Regional Hospital will open more beds to psychiatric patients. The hospital hopes those beds will alleviate a backlog of patients boarded in emergency rooms.

On one day last month, a record 68 patients in acute mental health crises were stuck in emergency rooms around the state, waiting for a bed at New Hampshire Hospital, the state's lone psychiatric hospital. Now Portsmouth Regional will increase its inpatient psychiatric beds from eight to twelve in the hopes of chipping away at that wait time. 

Michael Treadwell sat at the back of a courtroom.  In a windbreaker and khaki pants, he leaned over his work boots, elbows on his knees. At first, I thought he was chewing gum – a bold choice in a courtroom.  When we began to talk, I discovered it wasn't gum Michael was chewing.  It was his own gums. Michael doesn't have any teeth.

Starting October 30, Andrew Dixon spent 13 days in the emergency room at Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester. And as his father, John Dixon, describes that time, you might think Andrew had committed a crime. 

  A survey from the National Alliance on Mental Illness shows that for people with insurance, mental healthcare is still tougher to access than other kinds of care. There are a variety of reasons for that. Here to discuss this report is Ken Norton. He’s the executive director of NAMI New Hampshire. He spoke with NHPR’s Peter Biello.

The state's top health official wants to know if layoffs at Dartmouth-Hitchcock will affect care at the state psychiatric hospital.

In a letter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO Dr. James Weinstein, Health Commissioner Jeff Meyers asks if psychiatric staff will be among the 84 layoffs from across the healthcare system. The letter comes as Dartmouth-Hitchcock's relationship with the state is under a lot of scrutiny. 

Even as the state moves forward with plans for meeting the mental health needs of Granite Staters, workers in this field, from psychiatrists to specially trained nurses, are scarce. The factors are many, ranging from inadequate salaries to licensing boards that make it difficult for job seekers to cross state lines. 

The Executive Council voted unanimously today to allow Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital to mange care at the state psychiatric hospital for the next three years.

The Executive Council is slated to vote Wednesday on a contract between the state hospital and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital. The vote comes as an independent investigation gets underway about a former patient's suicide. 

A new study has confirmed a sad truth about our listening habits - people stop discovering new music around age 33.  Today on Word of Mouth, a seasoned music editor offers tips on how not to get stuck listening to the songs you loved in high school for the rest of your life.

The state is behind schedule in expanding the types of community-based mental health services that keep people out of hospitals and other institutions. The timeline for developing those services was laid out in a $30 million class action lawsuit settlement in 2014 that alleged New Hampshire was violating the civil rights of people with mental illness. We check in on statewide efforts to improve the state's mental health system, what data tells us about the situation, and goals for implementation going forward.

Here is the scathing conclusion from a report about New Hampshire’s struggling mental health system: “The time for patience…is over.”

An ongoing staffing skirmish at New Hampshire Hospital threatens to create a backlog in the state’s already fragile mental health system.

The conflict pits one of New Hampshire's most esteemed medical institutions – Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital – against one of the most specialized psychiatric teams.

State leaders recently joined the medical and mental health community to launch  "Change Direction NH," part of a national initiative to raise awareness of mental health disorders and  eliminate the stigma around these issues.  Long considered an afterthought to physical well being, mental health has gained recognition as having equal importance, although it's still not easy for many to discuss or seek help. Change Direction NH attempts to fix that, promoting awareness of the signs of mental illness.  Still, challenges remain, including access to treatment.