What started as a pointed discussion on providing acquitted individuals with access to mental health services evolved into a potential study under the bi-cameral Virginia Behavioral Health Commission. This week, a workgroup from the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the Commonwealth in the 21st Century, chaired by Del. Vivian Watts (D – … Read more
Jennifer Faison is the executive director of the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards (VACSB) which oversees 39 CSBs across the Commonwealth and the Behavioral Health Authority. Faison has advocated for Virginia’s behavioral health workforce — not just at state hospitals but the services embedded in the community as well, especially as the pandemic continues … Read more
Members of the Virginia Legislative Behavioral Health Subcommittee are expressing concern over whether they are “doing enough” to mitigate the Commonwealth’s ongoing workforce shortage at its behavioral health facilities. Virginia state hospitals are resuming Temporary Detention Order (TDO) admissions after they were halted last month due to staffing issues, but stakeholders spent last week’s meeting … Read more
A group of Virginia Tech researchers are working towards a new way to combat opioid use disorder: with a vaccine. Medication assisted treatment (MAT), which includes a combination of medications and behavioral counseling, may be used to treat an individual already suffering from opioid use disorder, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). … Read more
Two Virginia state hospitals will resume civil Temporary Detention Orders (TDO) on a limited admissions basis starting Thursday, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) commissioner Alison Land announced this week. Piedmont Geriatric Hospital in Burkeville and Western State Hospital in Staunton will join Catawba Hospital — which reopened July 29. However, all three … Read more