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Patients Face Shortages of Facilities, Clinicians

Lynne Lamberg

JAMA. 2008;300(9):1011-1013.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Washington, DC—Three years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the US Gulf Coast in August and September 2005, many survivors still struggle to move on with their lives. Psychiatrists and other clinicians, hospitals, governmental and nongovernmental agencies, schools, and community groups are working to help adults and children with persistent mental health problems. They also seek to restore and strengthen mental health services and boost preparedness for future disasters.

In doing so, however, they must overcome distinct challenges: shortages of mental health professionals and facilities, along with higher than expected rates of mental illness related to the hurricanes and their aftermath. Professionals discussed some of these issues at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) here in May.

SLOW—OR NO—RETURN

The hurricanes displaced an estimated 2.5 million people, more than any other event in the nation's history, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. By May 2008, . . . [Full Text of this Article]