Developing a Comprehensive Trauma- and Resiliency- Focused Program After Superstorm Sandy in New York City.

ABSTRACTTo contribute to the ongoing discourse about successful programming supporting intermediate behavioral and mental health needs of vulnerable communities affected by disaster, this article presents the Children's Health Fund (CHF) Sandy Recovery and Resiliency Program as a descriptive case study for a multifaceted, community-based approach to building resiliency, coping, and socioemotional skills in an underserved community in New York City that was affected by Superstorm Sandy. The case study involves retrospective review and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data that were collected as part of routine care and program implementation. From the analysis emerged a program consisting of 3 components: (1) delivery of workshops and community events to decrease stigma and build community-wide resilience, (2) delivery of workshops for students and educators in the local school to increase coping skills as well as referrals to clinical mental health care, and (3) provision of mental health care via a mobile mental health clinic.

Building integrated mental health and medical programs for vulnerable populations post-disaster: connecting children and families to a medical home.

Introduction: Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane, made landfall in August 2005. Approximately 1,500 deaths have been directly attributed to the hurricane, primarily in Louisiana and Mississippi. In New Orleans, Louisiana, most of the healthcare infrastructure was destroyed by flooding, and > 200,000 residents became homeless.

Population psychiatric medication prescription rates following a terrorist attack.

Introduction: While several population-based studies have documented behavioral health disturbances following terrorist attacks, a number of mental health service utilization analyses present conflicting conclusions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if mental health service utilization increased following a terrorist attack by assessing changes in psychoactive drug prescription rates.

Methods: The rate of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescriptions was measured among New York State Medicaid enrollees before and after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

The mental health consequences of terrorism: implications for emergency medicine practitioners.

Emergency physicians are likely to be first-line responders in any local or regional terrorist event. In addition to preparing for the potential physical conditions and injuries that are associated with terrorism, they should be aware of the behavioral and mental health implications as well. It is helpful to be familiar with the characteristics that predict who may be at increased risk for mental illness after such events and how they may be identified in an Emergency Department setting.

Identification and evaluation of mental health and psychosocial preparedness resources from the Centers for Public Health Preparedness.

An exemplar group of disaster mental health subject matter experts was formed as part of the CDC Center for Public Health Preparedness program to develop a "toolkit" of relevant CPHP disaster mental health training and education curricula and resources. The group developed a charter, compiled relevant CPHP training materials, developed an objective review template, and collectively reviewed the assembled resources. Curricular reviews were presented at a March 2005 meeting where an asset matrix was developed to categorize and compare the training and education curricula and resources.