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The Flag Tours Rhode Island The following is a press release from the Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty website. Fogarty, National Alliance for Mentally Ill Mark Mental
Health Month The Chairman of the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) and author of legislation that dramatically expanded the state’s mental health parity law, Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) today marked Mental Health Month by bringing the NLGA and NAMI joint national public awareness campaign on mental illness to Rhode Island in a stateroom ceremony. Joining NAMI and the Lieutenant Governor was Kristy Worthen from Arkansas whose own experience with bipolar disorder and hand-painted flag have become a national symbol for mental illness issues. “The NAMI, NLGA program is designed to promote public awareness, access to psychiatric medication and recovery,” Fogarty said. “We must erase the artificial line between mental illness and physical illness which has kept so many people from getting the care they need to live full, productive lives. We’ve taken a big step forward with our mental health parity law and with the expansion of our RIPAE program to include drugs to treat depression, but we need to continue to work to make psychiatric medication more accessible to help people reach full recovery,” Fogarty said. Nicki Sahlin, Ph.D., Executive Director of NAMI Rhode Island, said NAMI chose to bring its Flag to Rhode Island for Mental Health Month in recognition of Lt. Governor Fogarty’s leadership in his presidency of the NLGA and his longtime dedication to mental health issues, including the recent revision of Rhode Island’s Mental Health Parity Law. She noted that “Kristy Worthen’s story illustrates the promise of full recovery offered by the new medications for psychiatric disorders, and the vital importance of access to a full range of these medications by all patients.” She added that some states have tried to cut back on public mental health costs by restricting the number of new psychiatric medications available. Almost invariably, this increased costs, because rehospitalizing seriously mentally ill patients became necessary after they were denied the medications chosen by their psychiatrists. Worthen says of her project, “I created my flag as a symbol of hope for all people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Now that I’ve recovered with the aid of the best treatments available, I want to let others know there is hope and there is help for people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness.” The NLGA is seeking to rally public awareness of the need to improve the lives of people with mental illnesses through the “NAMI flag project” launched by Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, in honor of a flag hand-painted by Worthen, 24, whose story is the subject of Journey Not Chosen…Destination Not Known: Living with Bipolar Disorder. Bearing the symbol of a beacon from a lighthouse and the slogan “Shine A Light on Mental Health Issues,” the flag has flown to date over statehouses in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Idaho. The NAMI Flag will be on display in the Rhode Island Statehouse Rotunda today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. One out of every five Americans is affected by mental illness. Two-thirds never receive treatment. Those suffering from mental illness may encounter a variety of obstacles to treatment including lack of diagnosis or misdiagnosis, stigma, financial inability to seek treatment or inaccessibility of treatment. Inaccessibility may be caused by anything from geographic challenges to language barriers. Mental illness can affect anyone, from children with severe emotional disturbances to the elderly. In 2000, Fogarty convened a Task Force on Mental Health Parity after it was reported that a woman attempted suicide after she was sent home from the hospital where she was being treated for a severe case of anorexia nervosa. The outcome of the task force was an expansion of the landmark 1994 mental health parity law sponsored by Rep. Gordon Fox. The 2001 law makes significant changes to existing mental health law in Rhode Island including expanding the definition of mental illness; eliminating biological basis; providing for expanded coverage; removing caps on inpatient days; mandating outpatient benefits; expanding detoxification benefits and eliminating out-of-state restrictions. NAMI Rhode Island is an independent organization that provides support to people with mental illness and their friends or family members, educates professionals and the public about mental illness and advocates for improved services for all people with mental illness. Part of the NAMI family of more than 1,200 affiliates across the country, NAMI-RI invites consumers, family members, and friends of people with mental illness to join and to participate in its many activities. There are currently twelve affiliates in Rhode Island. Department or agency: Office of Lieutenant Governor
While in Rhode Island, Kristy and Mary attended a general assembly of the Rhode Island Senate and were welcomed as noted in the minutes: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Journals/Journals03/SenateJournals03/SJournal5-06.htm "...Upon suggestion ofSenate Majority Leader Montalbano,
and by unanimous consent, the Honorable President welcomes to the Chamber
Kristy Worthen and Mary Worthen from Arkansas who are here today as special
guests in Rhode Island as part of a joint project with the National Lieutenant
Governor's Association and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
(known as NAMI) to mark May as Mental Health Month. Also joining them
is Gerry Levesque from Astra Zeneca..." |
Copyright 2003 Kristy Worthen
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