March 22, 2000
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Health & Education
$7.5 million available to treat
women affected by substance
abuse, mental illness and violence
CONTRIBUTED STORY
I Q R T I U : PO B T L A W C Q B iiE K V tK
T he Substance A buse and M ental H ealth Services A dm inistration’s
(SA M H SA ) C enter for Substance A buse T reatm ent (C SA T) today
announced the availability o f $7.5 m illion dollars to support 10 grants to
expand treatm ent o f w om en w ith histories o f substance abuse, physical
and sexual abuse and m ental illness.
T he grants are available only to those program s that currently are
grantees for phase one o f this program . This restriction will enable
grantees to proceed im m ediately to im proving the know ledge base, since
they have already established an integrated system o f care for w om en
w ith co-occurring disorders, including histories o f physical and sexual
abuse. An additional $1.2 m illion will be available to support as many as
five grantee aw ards for study sites and an aw ard fo racoordinating center
to evaluate children o f these w om en w ho have been im pacted by their
m others’ co-occurring disorders and histories o f violence.
“SA M H SA is com m itted to follow ing through with grants and technical
assistance to generate important know ledge on how to develop integrated
services for w om en that w ork,” SAM H SA A dm inistratorN elbaC havez,
Ph.D ., said. “T hese grants w ill help fill in the gaps in w hat w e now know
about histories o f violence and how they affect treatm ent o f co-occurring
disorders. Phase one identified promising models for intervention services.
N ow w e must test these m odels to see w hat will work to reach w om en who
have suffered com plex interactions from traum a, substance abuse and
m ental illness.”
CSA T Director H. Westley Clark, M. D., J D„ M.P. H„ noted that “substance
abuse cannot be addressed in a vacuum . T he com bination o f substance
abuse, m ental illness and violence has to be addressed together if w e are
to give hope to these w om en, and their young children, that recovery is
possible and the cycle o f pain can be broken.”
This im plem entation study o f program s for w om en is a partnership
am ong the C enter for Substance A buse Treatm ent, the Center for Mental
H ealth Services and the C enter for Substance A buse Treatment.
Applications for grants o f $700,000 to $750,000 forthe w om en’s program
and a maximum o f $200,000 for the ch i ldren ’s study wi 11 be accepted from
current phase one grantees until June 13,2000.
A pplications are available on S A M H S A ’s w eb site, w w w .sam hsa.gov.
as wel 1 as by calling 1 -800-729-6686. Refer to GF A N umber T100-003 for
the w om en’s program and T I 00-006 forthe children’s subset. Q uestions
on program issues should be directed to, M elissa Rael, RN, M.A., project
officer, at 301 -443-8236. Grants management questions should bedirected
to C hristine Chen at 301-443-8926.
Health Briefs
Using contam inated bottled w ater to
rin se co n tac t len ses p asses the
bacteria to the surface o f the lens. If
bacteria or other microorganism s get
into the eye, they could potentially
cause a serious infection o f the
cornea. W ilelm us urges those who
wear contact lenses to use contact-
lens solution and follow a strict
disinfection regim en to avoid serious
eye infections.
Parents should set
tim e for Easter
candy
Parents should set a tim e limit for how
long candy from the Easter bunny
rem ains in the house.
“ M ake a deal with your kids that
E aster candy will be rem oved after
about a w eek,” said Dr. Janice Stuff.
N u tr itio n ’s at th e U S D A /A R S
C h ild re n ’s N u tritio n ’s R esearch
C enter at BaylorCollege o f M edicine
in Houston. After that tim e, pick
special tim e to give candy to your
kids. An occasional taste well help
satisfy their sweet tooth.”
Eating too much candy can affect a
ch ild ’s appetite and cause the child
to dev elo p bad eatin e habits. If
children d o n ’t have a good appetite,
they m i ght not regu larly eat the fruits,
vegetables and meats needed to grow
up healthy and strong.
Bottled water and
contact
lenses
don’t mix.
A new study finds using bottled water
to rinse and store contact lenses might
do m ore harm than good.
Researchers at Baylor C ollege o f
M edicine H ouston purchased 23
brands o f bottled w ater and tested
them for contam ination.
“W e found that nearly a third o f the
bottled w ater w as contam inated with
bacteria and other microorganism s,
in c lu d in g m o ld s , a lg a e an d
am oebas,” said Dr. Kirk W ilhelus, a
Baylor professor o f ophthalm ology.
e le m e n ta l liq u id m e rc u ry , and
thimerosal, a mercury compound used
in vaccines.
“Children who com e in contact with
m ercury can d ev elo p respiratory
problem s, and i fth e metal penetrates
the brain, brain dam age,” Said Dr.
Erin Endom, an assistant professor o f
pediatric em ergency m edicine at
Baylor Col 1 ege o f Medic i ne and Texas
C hildren’s H ospital in Houston.
A lthough thim erosal has never been
proven to cause m ercury poisoning
in children, physicians are concerned
ab o u t th e in c re a se d n u m b e r o f
thimerosal-containing vaccines given
to children.
T ypical signs o f depression include:
Sleep problem s
F a ilu re to g a in p le a s u r e fro m
previously enjoyed activities
Decreased energy or concentration
C hanges in appetite
F e e lin g s o f h o p e le s s n e s s an d
h elp lessn ess
Thoughts o f death and suicide.
If you know an elderly person with
any o f these sym ptom s, encourage
them to seek m edical attention as
soon as possible, M olinari said.
D epression is not a normal part o f
aging, but rather a medical condition
that should be treated aggressively.
“A bout three percent o f the elderly
liv in g in d e p e n d e n tly in th e
c o m m u n ity
w ill
e x p e r ie n c e
depression, said Dr. V ictor M olinari,
a psychologist at Baylor C ollege o f
M e d ic in e
and
d ir e c to r
of
g ero p sy c h o lo g y at th e V ete ran s
A ffairs M edical C enter in H ouston.
That num ber increases to betw een 20
and 30 percent o f people in nursing
hom es or w ith chronic i llnesses such
as em p h y sem a, heart d isease or
d iab etes.”
Tw o personality types are also high
risk: obsessive/com pulsive people
bothered by their lack o f control over
c h a n g e s re la te d to a g in g , an d
dependent persons who lose loved
ones.
“ W e can help permenopausal women
by giving them low-dose birth control
pills help regulate her periods and
supplem ent the estrogen she is no
longer producing adequately.”
P e r im e n o p a u s e u su a lly o c c u rs
around age 45 and can last anyw here
from a few days to a few years.
A pproxim ately 80 percent o f women
g o th ro u g h so m e fo rm o f
perim enopause. During this tim e a
w om en might experience irregular
periods, hot flashes, night sweats,
sleep problem s, changes in weight
skin and hair, depression, m ood
sw ings and poor concentration.
Birth-control pills com bined with a
low-fat, high- fiber dietrich in calcium
and vitam ins can m ake life more
bearable for these women, Zuraw in
said.
Listeria
could
harm pregnant
P e r im e n o p a u s e
women and unborn
can make life
child
D epression not difficult for women
A bacteria called listeria can have a
P erim enpause, a tim e betw een a
devastating effect on a pregnant
normal part of w om en ’ s reproductive years and her
w om en and her unborn
final m enstrual cycle, can be di fficult.
aging
“Listeria has been known to cause
B ut re lie f is available.
c h ild .
an infection in the lining o f the uterus
b e fo re b irth th a t ca n b e life -
threatening for both m o th er and
child,” said Dr. Flor M unoz, an
infectious-disease expert with Baylor
CollegeofM edicine in Houston. “The
infection can trigger a spontaneous
abortion o f Listeria found in foods
such as unpasteurized milk products,
uncooked meat, hot dogs deli meats
and soft like brie.
Mercury poisoning
can be deadly
M e rc u ry p o iso n in g is not v ery
com m on, but it can be deadly for
children. M ercury is a silvery metal
that is extrem ely poisonous. Children
can becom e exposed from broken
glass therm om eters, w hich contain
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