If someone told you they had access to specialty cardiology treatment but not to primary care, you may find it ironic. If someone told you they are being treated for their cancer but not for their co-occurring diabetes, it would seem ridiculous. Yet this kind of health care is typical to that given to individuals suffering from serious mental illness.
The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors 2007 study on morbidity and mortality in people with serious mental illness revealed that, on average, people with severe mental illness die 25 years earlier than the general population. This was a bombshell. But the tragic report findings corroborated what those in the trenches — community mental and behavioral healthcare providers — suspected; community mental health organizations are helping people recover from mental illness when their lives are endangered due to neglect of other serious health issues. » Read more: Mental Health Organizations Work Together To Save And Improve Lives
