Clay Hunt SAV Act 203
Introduction
Approximately twenty-two American veterans take a decision of committing suicide daily. This statistics amounts to around eight thousand and thirty veterans committing suicide annually. This Act was named after one of the Marine Corporal Clay Hunt originating from Houston Texas. He worked in Afghanistan and Iraq after which he ventured into assisting the veterans after his warfare tours (Heller, 2014).
Case Study That Motivated preparation of a Model of Action
During the War in Iraq, Hunt was wounded and later diagnosed with post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The condition was recognized after he went back to the United States. He received a thirty percent disability rating from the VA for this Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Hunt appealed for the thirty percent rating after he discovered that the post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) prevented him from maintaining his job. Unfortunately, Hunt went out for incredible bureaucratic barriers due his condition that was later followed by loss of his files by the VA Houston (Heller, 2014).
His disability rating won him the chance to use medical care from VA. Though, he was always in conflict with the medical services and care offered in VA. He continuously faced problems in the medical center due to rescheduling of appointments that made him worry more about the treatment he was receiving from the medical center (Tindall, 2014).
Despite his efforts of enquiring about his medical progress, the medical practitioners only gave contradicting information not asked. He only received some counseling and the medication had the ability only to lower his sign and symptoms. Later on, Hunt moved on to Houston to live with his family members. Though he had to wait for months to get an appointment to see his psychiatrist at the Houston VA Medical Center regarding his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The disappointment Clay Hunt received prompted him to call his mother and explain that his relation with the medical center was ill, and he will never visit the center again. Two weeks later after the incidence, Clay Hunt took his life through committing suicide (Heller, 2014).
Way Forward
Many are times when deaths are being reported which result from mental health issues. That in mind, I prepared to design a model that if applied would promote prediction and prevention of suicide cases. In addition to developing the design, I enquired on its viability from three groups of people, one being the Arkansas community Organization, and three of retired Army men I had a conversation with regarding my proposal. I involved the participants through phone calls and face to face discussion with the three Army men. The viability of my model was positive as they assumed it capable of achieving the SAV act goals and objectives.
Design of the Model
Due to the high suicide rates, Military doctors would be in a position to reduce the suicide rates among soldiers. And, other veterans with psychiatric conditions by application of advanced screening systems that detects and flags out those with the highest risk of taking their lives.
The proposed model will have a computer enabled program that rate suspected individuals more than twenty actual factors. The program checks history of violence, prescription of drugs and age at enlistment to act as the most rigorous suicide prediction and prevention model.
The model will be performing it expected activities and responsibilities under the real-time world setting and interaction even with the individuals from the rural areas. The advantage of this suicide screening and prevention model is its ability to incorporate, both the questionnaire strategy, which was used initially and ability to detect the truthful nature of the answers offered. (Tindall, 2014).
Additionally, the program comes with an online platform that can do references to different personal data in order to study the history and records of the affected individuals. Its ability to mine both personal and medical data of every person throughout the country offers the best opportunity to utilize the model for prediction and prevention of suicide cases.
The model has a pre-listed factor that motivate individuals to engage in suicide-related cases. This feature enables it to be easily integrated into any community set up as most suicide victims suffer from similar causes. It allows the doctors and home care nurses to follow high-risk individuals even after their discharge in order to instill suicide prevention measures in them. It forms a background charge sheet and patient care documents that schedules frequent patients therapy after discharge (Golightley, 2013). The model updates the documents automatically and alerts the relevant departments of the scheduled service to the patients. With the model, it is very easy to control suicide cases as it helps enlist family members and friends who can be of importance in assisting the patient recover from the shock (Tindall, 2014).
The model would work best as compared to other interventions in prediction and prevention of suicide. It includes all the aspects of community empowerment, community capacity building, and the inclusion of both administrative and medical health records of all individuals (Golightley, 2013).
Proposing the model
The model had the ability to work with already established peer groups in Arkansas. Therefore, I made a call to Arkansas community Organization located in Little Rock, AR, 72206 on (501) 376-7151. I discussed the features of the model and the potential it has for improving, predicting and prevention of suicide among individual within the region.
Arkansas community Organization is suitable for this work as it deals with programs aiming at improving the health care of the American people. It has the in-depth focus on mental health and, therefore, the model would work best for them. The bond in-between the community organization and the community is firm. It has sub-offices within the grassroots, and that means that the application of the model will be simple. The community organization will be in a position of meeting the requirements stated in the bill in section 5 (c) (Golightley, 2013).
Section Five of the Act
Section Five part c indicates that, the Secretary inaugurates a three-year preliminary program with more than 5 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). They will assist veterans in transitioning from active duty to improvement in accessing mental health services. It also indicates that the pilot program at each Veterans Integrated Service Networks involves:
- A community informed veteran peer support network, carried out in collaboration with an entity that has knowledge in peer support programs.
- An active community outreach team group for each medical center in such Veterans Integrated Service Networks.
Additionally, the same section of the Act states that the Secretary must submit interims and over final reports to Congress regarding the pilot program (Tindall, 2014).
With such requirements by the Act’s section, the proposed model has an inbuilt capability to make sure all this happens with the click of the button. My proposed model inputs and stores all data regarding a patient from the time of registration to the current times. Variously, it has the capability to record in real time and conversation done between the patient and the doctor to offer as an evident to be used during monitoring and evaluation.
The pilot program was aimed at working with peer groups to ensure that they are informed of all mental health services available. It also called for a community outreach team to ensure that the services of Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) reaches even the veteran in the grassroots. The proposed model has two types of interface, the desktop interface, and the mobile enabled interface. With the web enabled services of the computer, the peers can easily chat and communicate with the doctors. The community outreach team will have the easiest time working with people in the grassroots to ensure that the information is collected and saved directly through the cloud-enabled program.
The Clay Hunt suicide prevention for American Veterans Act also had an intervention for providing and lowering army me and veteran suicides and improving access to quality mental health care for the particular groups (Johnson, 2010). In addition to the website being owned by the organization, the program will have the ability to save contact list of the patient and share messages through direct links. This will make sure that the program updates the patient on the due dates of his appointment with doctors and his progress as far as recovery is concerned (Tindall, 2014).
Developed and supported by Capitol Hill and IAVA, the team offering qualitative and quantitive data indicates that the SAV Act will eventually increase access to mental health care. That is by creating community outreach and support groups that promote transitioning service to members through personal and web site information (Johnson, 2010). Now that the teams have both the qualitative and quantitative data required for the implementation of prevention programs. The model will be the best tool to utilize as it has the capability to detect change in the objective achievement schedule. Variously, it can store both the quantitative and qualitative data to act as reference points when need comes (Bertcher, 2012).
Community Outreach Plan
To make the model succeed, I would support them in developing support networks and putting out an intact community outreach plan. The community outreach program will have the following features in collaboration with the proposed model (Bertcher, 2012).
COMMUNITY OUTREACH PLAN
Outreach Need(s): Increase awareness and prevention information
Target Audience(s): Veterans, Army men, Health/Wellness Coordinators, potentially eligible peer groups participants
Goal(s): Maintain and form partnerships with community and community-based organizations in creating awareness on suicide prevention.
Objective(s): By the end of the year, the program should have reached more than 5000 individuals both in rural and urban set ups.
Who
What and how
Where
Responsibilities
Contact Information
Outreach team
Plan Implementation Leader
Public Affairs, Community Emergency Management Agency
Drafts plan, seeks concurrence, updates plan, tracks implementation
501-63721917
Peer Groups
Peer Support Network
The best and efficient way of coming up with a peer support network is through the use of data already captured in the proposed model. The produced model has all information regarding peers, friend and family members of the affected individuals. With that in mind, the peer groups will be made by these individuals, the group may also involve the affected person in order to assist him recover first (Tindall, 2014).
To have stronger peer groups, the members must be educated on the various ways of detecting depression among their peers in the group. Additionally, the teams must be capacity built on the factors and issues that may motivate suicide and the best interventions just in case such a scenario occurs. Also, family members of the peer groups should be enlightened on the various risks tools or equipment that may trigger individuals suffering from mental illness to commit suicide. Such equipment includes, guns, carbon monoxide, bridges, and guns. Therefore, while building my peer group, I will inform them of the above so that they can make sure the affected victims do not access such tools alone (Heller, 2014).
To make the peer groups lively and active, my proposed model also seek to include peer support groups to suicide victims into a forum. The discussion ought to be interactive and does not allow intruders to view confidential information of the patients. They are just supposed to login with their registered login details into the program to help inform the doctors and medical practitioners on what is happening in their regions. Such inclusion and active participation will make sure that the objective of the bills chapter 5 (c) is achieved (Bertcher, 2012).
On Monday, during the lunch break session (03/09/2015). I was accompanied by Jacob, who works in the city coffee house to Abernathy Drive. We meet his Uncle, who had worked in the Army for 30 years till he got a backbone injury and left for treatment. I met him with his two other friends, who also had a similar problem but still served the state on individual occasions. Jacob’s uncle name was Albert, and his two friends were Lucafre and Here young.
It finally reached a moment to discuss on the viability of my model with them. Among the interactive questions I asked included, whether my model would work in case it was passed and implement. According to them, the model was the perfect match for solving mental problems among the soldiers. Mr. Albert indicated that my layout would at least save 30% of a hundred people treated. He also suggested that the model should be adopted by hospitals, governmental disaster response departments and organizations working within the medical mandates. It would help and solve the mental health issues affecting many people (Bertcher, 2012).
Luckily, the two colleagues accompanying Mr. Albert had a great background about the SAV Act. They felt the Act was of great importance to the health of the soldiers who were in need of mental health. They also felt that my outlined proposal would play more significant role in bridging the gap between the theoretical objectives described in the bill and its implementation into the community (Heller, 2014).
Mr. Albert’s colleagues supported the SAV Act too and felt that my plan would work best in achieving the objectives and activities highlighted in the bill. Additionally, they thought the model needs more state support as it has the potential of eradicating the issues of suicide within the armed forces. They had the full faith and trust that the proposed model had the capability to offer the best as far as mental health care and treatment is concerned (Bertcher, 2012).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the SAV Act aims at promoting better achievement of mental health care demand by promoting loan repayments for psychiatric students in VA. Occasionally, the team would motivate mental health care program by improving accountability of mental health centers and by ensuring frequent evaluation and monitoring to ensure clients or patients acquire the service they need all time. With an implementation of my proposed model, I believe that mental health risks will be easily predicted and prevented (Ulas, 2013).
Through the design, the objectives and goals of SAV Act will be achieved while, on the other hand, communities will be directly involved in the peer support forums. They will be empowered, capacity built and given timely firsthand information (Ulas, 2013).
Those attempting suicide will also be monitored and evaluated carefully. The model has the one-time patient and clients information docket that updates patients and customers on the medical progress. It keeps them updated on the right dates to go see the doctor and the medical prescriptions they are supposed to take (Heller, 2014).
The ability of the model to have both the mobile and desktop interfaces makes it fit to both the peer groups in the grassroots and the doctors in the offices. The two interfaces ensure fast sharing and response of required information by various parties involved. It is also a quiet and easy way for doctors to manage health records for their patients.
Engaging and screening individuals during clinical treatment of mental illness is crucial. My model has an inbuilt interactive screening program that helps the doctors to screen the patients with depression and also decide their level of risk, in committing suicide (Heller, 2014).
References
Bertcher, H. J., Kurtz, L. F., & Lamont, A. (2012). Rebuilding Communities: Challenges for Group Work. New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis.
Golightley, M. (2013). Social work and mental health. Exeter: Learning Matters.
Heller, N. R., & Gitterman, A. (2014). Mental health and social challenges: A social work perspective. London: Routledge.
Johnson, W. E. (2010). Social work with African American males: Health, mental health, and social policy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tindall, J. A., & Tindall, J. A. (2014). Peer program: A look at peer helping: planning, implementation, and administration. St. Charles, MO: Rohen and Associates. Ulas, M., & Connor, A. (2013). Mental health and social work. London: J. Kingsley Publishers.
