Hospital Staff Works to Lift Stigma of Mental Illness

Staff members at are working to lift the stigma associated with mental illness by forming allies in the community who can be specially trained to respond to mental health emergencies.

Professionals from Linden Oaks Hospital, a division of Edward that specializes in mental health, worked their way around on Friday soliciting support for a community-wide Mental Health First Aid plan. The initiative includes training emergency responders, like those in local fire and police departments, to properly identify with and treat patients suffering from a mental illness.

"These illnesses are clouded with shame and guilt," said Mary Lou Mastro, president of Linden Oaks. "One of the things we want to do is roll out this program and help eliminate that stigma and allow people to better understand mental illnesses."

The plan started in Australia 10 years ago, Mastro said, and was launched in the U.S. in 2008. Linden Oaks staff members are MHFA certified and thus qualified to train members of the community to handle mental health crises until professional help is available.

About 75 people attended a presentation outlining the program Friday morning and coordinators later met with key government leaders at the .

"To get our responders trained up on this, not so much always for the 911 call, but to deal with families when they arrive on accident scenes would be invaluable," City Manager Doug Krieger said, after a presentation.

Krieger was joined by Chief Mark Puknaitis, Chief David Dial and other members of city government. Mayor George Pradel read a proclamation announcing the city as a partner with Linden Oaks' as it launches the MHFA program.

"In any given year, one out of every four Americans is experiencing a mental illness," Mastro said. "We know that most people who need help don't get it. We also know that there is help and that treatment does work."

She said an estimated $200 billion is spent in the U.S. each year treating mental illnesses or the costs associated with it—loss of productivity or incarceration, for example.

"Some of the research studies have shown that by people being taught MHFA … it's decreasing the stigma around mental health," said Trish Jones-Bendel, director of specialty services at Linden Oaks. "Learning it also improves the mental health of the instructors. This really has an effect on a person's quality of life."

The program is geared toward people who are not healthcare professionals, said Beth Jelesky, chief nursing officer and director for quality and risk at Linden Oaks.

"The target audience is anyone over 16 years old who's interested in mental health problems," she said. "…We are so delighted that so many people want to be join in this partnership."

The training is guided by the acronym "ALGEE," which stands for assessing for risk of suicide or harm, listening non-judgmentally, giving reassurance and information, encouraging appropriate professional help and encouraging support strategies.

Puknaitis said he hopes to make the MHFA program part of the regular training firefighters receive so it can be "available to as many people as possible."

Coordinators feel that arming members of the community with the proper tools can make all the difference in the lives of those afflicted by mental illness, they said.

"We are so excited about this," Mastro said. "We want to eliminate the stigma and truly feel that we can turn this huge ship around."