Dr. Carlos Cardenas
Posted: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 1:35 pm
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In the past two years there have been two tragedies that stand out and both share a common factor.
The 2011 shooting in Tuscon claimed six lives and seriously injured many others including U.S Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
In 2012, a shooting inside a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 70.
Both cases raised the question of whether the shooters were mentally stable.
Since the attacks, mental health has been thrust into the spotlight and mental health awareness has been on the forefront. So much so, that President Obama has now enlisted help from Hollywood A-listers to roll out public service announcements.
On June 3rd President Obama and Vice President Biden hosted a National Conference on Mental Health at the White House to re-ignite conversations about the issues and launch awareness about the issue that plagues 26.2 percent of Americans over the age of 18, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
The Rio Grande Valley is also doing its part to help attract and train the professionals needed in the field.
“We are in an area that has dire healthcare needs and even more dire mental health needs,” said Dr. Cardenas, Interim CEO at DHR.
On Tuesday the Hogg Foundation awarded a grant of $89,750 to the Lone Star Psychology Residency Consortium to continue to support the education and training of a mental health workforce in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Hogg Foundation advances recovery and wellness in Texas by funding mental health services, policy analysis, research and public education.
Under the direction of Dr. Cynthia Gonzalez and Dr. Joseph McCoy, the consortium has been training doctoral students at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance (DHR) since 2006.
Training at DHR—at facilities such as the Renaissance Behavioral Center and the Rehab Center at Renaissance—is designed to address the local community’s underserved mental health care needs.
In doing so, the consortium improves access to and the quality of mental health services, leading to recovery and wellness for more South Texans with mental illness.
Dr. Martinez, executive director of the Hogg Foundation says that offering an integrated approach that trains physicians, primary care doctors, internists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers would benefit the people of the Valley.
The Hogg Foundation is also looking at DHR and UTPA as future sites to create diverse training opportunities for the training consortium that is being created in the Valley.
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Wednesday, July 10, 2013 1:35 pm.
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