Florida Coalition for Optimal Mental Health & Aging Newsletter, Summer 2002, Vol 5, No 1

florida coalition in action

Get the Facts!

During the 2002 legislative session the Florida Coalition Legislative/ Policy Workgroup sent all Florida legislators and staff fact sheets on the growing crisis in mental health and substance abuse needs of Florida's elderly.

The fact sheets were updated in July, and you can obtain free copies of the new fact sheet by calling Sharon Anderson at 813-974-1976, or go to the web page: http://www.fmhi.usf.edu/coalition/getfacts.html

The 5th Annual Conference of The Florida Coalition for Optimal Mental Health & Aging

will be held
October 24 & 25, 2002
Travelodge
Busch Blvd, Tampa

In early September 2002, information on the conference and registration will be available in the Conference Brochure and on the web site: http://www.fmhi.usf.edu/coalition/

Or for more information on the Conference, exhibit tables, or sponsorships, contact Jini Hanjian at 813-974-5929, or hanjian@fmhi.usf.edu

Up to 13.0 CECs will be available for Addiction Professionals, Marriage & Family Therapists, Mental Health Counselors, Nursing Home Administrators, Nurses, Psychologists, Public Guardians, and Social Workers.

The goal of the 5th Annual Conference is to provide information on innovative and state-of-the-art approaches to treatment, services, and intervention strategies related to aging, mental health, and substance abuse issues.

One keynote speaker is Dr. Cornelia Beck, Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Beck will discuss the management of behavioral symptoms in long term care.

Public Access Television

Public access television is the latest project of the Workgroup for Information and Training (WIT). WIT's first public awareness series was the video taping of the original "Get the Facts!" fact sheets discussed above. The fact sheets were aired in the evenings on the Channel 19/20 community bulletin board during March and April in the Tampa Bay Area.

"Anger Management", a half hour lecture by Berthenya Dunbar, A.R.N.P., was recently taped by the WIT producers and will be aired on Channel 19/20 on a future date.

For more information on working with your local public access television station, or to receive a copy of the tapes, contact Mary Watson or Betty Watson at 813-974-4453 or 1-888-822-4464 (toll free).