Mental health issues will be the topic of a Tuesday meeting of Clark County’s Commission on Aging.
The meeting will be 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the sixth-floor hearing room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St. It is open to the public, and a chance for Clark County residents to share concerns about needs of local residents.
The speaker will be Patti Gray, a Commission on Aging member and registered nurse board certified in gerontology. Gray will discuss the demographics of national and local mental health crises as well as suicide incidence and risk among baby boomers and the elderly.
The commission is also seeking volunteers to serve on a new committee about mental health awareness and advocacy. Objectives include:
• Engaging county, city, law enforcement, citizen and mental and medical health providers to take specific steps to improve access, cost-effectiveness and efficacy of services to those who need mental health assistance.
• Increasing community-based and inpatient psychiatric resources, responsiveness and the number and availability of inpatient beds.
• Increasing contributions of local, regional and national health care providers to mental health services in Clark County.
• Reducing reliance on the county jail and hospital emergency rooms as emergency and chronic mental health service providers.
Individuals interested in serving on the commission’s Mental Health Committee are encouraged to contact Gray at PattiGray@AtYourPlaceSeniorCare.com or 360-904-2107.
Following a national trend, Clark County’s population of seniors is growing and projected to almost double by 2030. The county commissioners tapped the aging commission to help the county and local cities implement an Aging Readiness Plan. It has 91 strategies about housing, transportation, recreation, lifestyle choices, support services and civic and social engagement.
For more information: www.clark.wa.gov/aging.
