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APA Press Release
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION APPLAUDS SENATORS CLINTON AND COLLINS AND REPRESENTATIVES KENNEDY AND ROSLEHTINEN FOR INTRODUCING “THE POSITIVE AGING ACT OF 2007"Washington DC - The American Psychological Association (APA) applauds Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) for introducing the “Positive Aging Act of 2007.” This legislation improves access to quality mental health care for older adults by integrating mental health services into primary care and community settings where older adults reside and receive services. In the 109th Congress, these four congressional champions introduced “The Positive Aging Act of 2005” (S. 1116/H.R. 2629) and secured several important provisions from this legislation in the bill to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which was signed into law late last year. The bill being introduced today reflects a strong bi-partisan and bi-cameral effort on behalf of our nation's older adults. "The integrated care model at the heart of this legislation will go a long way toward meeting the mental health needs of our nation's growing population of older adults," explained APA's CEO Norman B. Anderson, Ph.D. "By supporting collaboration between mental health providers and colleagues in primary care and community settings, we can improve access to quality mental health care for seniors whose mental health needs might otherwise go unmet" Currently, an estimated 20 percent of older adults in the U.S. have a mental health problem. It is estimated that up to two-thirds of older adults with a mental disorder do not receive the services they need. If left untreated, mental disorders can have significant consequences, including increases in disease, disability and mortality. In fact, men age 85 and older currently have the highest rates of suicide in our country and depression is the foremost risk factor. Evidence suggests that up to 75 percent of older adults who commit suicide have visited a primary care professional within 30 days of their death. Although effective treatments exist, the mental health needs of many older Americans go unrecognized and untreated because of separation and fragmentation of physical and mental health in traditional healthcare settings. The "Positive Aging Act of 2007" will address the mental health needs of older adults by amending the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to:
The American Psychological Association is delighted to join with these members of Congress to actively work toward enactment of “The Positive Aging Act of 2007.” The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare. # # #
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