APA Confers APEX Awards on Legislators, Other MH Advocates

APA recognized five leaders in politics, journalism, and advocacy for drawing attention to the needs of people with mental illness and substance use disorders during the second American Psychiatric Excellence (APEX) Awards presentation in Washington, D.C., last month.

The honorees were Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico); Kathryn Farinholt, executive director of NAMI Maryland; U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii); U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.); and Eric Eyre, a reporter for the Charleston Gazette-Mail. The awards ceremony was held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, in conjunction with the fall meeting of the APA Assembly.

Each awardee was introduced by an APA leader—President Anita Everett, M.D. (Farinholt and Eyre); president-elect Altha Stewart, M.D. (Schatz); Assembly speaker Theresa Miskimen, M.D. (González-Colón); and Speaker-elect James (Bob) Batterson, M.D. (Stabenow).

“The APEX Awards were created to honor the people who work every day to make our communities a better, safer place for people living with mental illness and substance use disorders,” said Everett at the ceremony. “They have helped move the needle on so many different fronts—by working with people with mental illness and their families, fighting for resources so communities can recover from a major disaster, promoting new ways to deliver mental health care and substance use disorder treatments, and by speaking up about the deadly effects of opioids on communities throughout our country.”

In opening remarks, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., said, “Each of these awardees in their own way has contributed to our common goal of making the United States a better, safer place for those with mental illness and substance use disorders.”

As resident commissioner, González-Colón is the sole representative from Puerto Rico to Congress and helped secure $36.5 billion in disaster aid for the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria. “This money will be essential as communities clean up, rebuild, and work to recover both physically and mentally,” said Miskimen before presenting the award to González-Colón.

González-Colón predicted the mental health consequences of the hurricane would be immense and enduring. She reminded attendees that some 70 percent of the island of Puerto Rico was still without power, and more than 30 percent did not have potable water. There have been more than 50 deaths, including some 24 suicides, related to the storm, she said.

Farinholt helped develop a number of NAMI’s signature programs, including “NAMI In Our Own Voice: Living With Mental Illness,” which trains speakers who have experienced mental illness; and the NAMI Family Support Group program, which is a peer-led support group for family members, other loved ones, and caregivers of individuals living with mental illness. Farinholt has been a national trainer for several NAMI programs and the national NAMI Leadership Institute. She has also developed nationally recognized resource materials, including the book Beyond Punishment: Helping Individuals With Mental Illness Navigate Maryland’s Criminal Justice System.

Schatz co-sponsored the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act, which was enacted in 2016 to help expand telemedicine and telepsychiatry. He is also a lead sponsor of the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, which is designed to expand technology-supported access to health care. The CONNECT for Health Act is endorsed by APA.

Accepting for Schatz, who could not attend, was his health policy advisor, Amy Grace, M.D., a pediatrician. She noted that Schatz is the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet (a subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation). “Sen. Schatz is passionate about improving health and mental health care by leveraging technology,” Grace said.

While Stabenow was unable to attend the ceremony, Batterson read a brief statement in praise of her efforts. “Sen. Stabenow has worked tirelessly to protect the essential health benefits, which include treatment for mental illness and substance use disorder, under the ACA.”

Stabenow, in her role as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, worked to ensure that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) promoted comprehensive coverage for women, including maternity care, as well as provisions to lower the cost of prescription drugs. More recently, Stabenow was a staunch opponent of Republican efforts to repeal or replace the ACA.

Eyre is a statehouse reporter for the Charleston Gazette-Mail who wrote about the opioid crisis in West Virginia and the role of pharmaceutical companies in distributing opioids in the state. “Reading his work fills you with sadness and dread as you become aware of the scope of the problem,” Everett said.

Eyre received the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for his reporting, and his work has led to congressional investigations into the role of pharmaceuticals in helping to promote the opioid epidemic. ■