O’NEILL, NE – A number of sessions focusing on mental health issues will be held during Northeast Community College’s 2017 O’Neill Health Conference. The conference will be held Tuesday, June 27, from 8:30 a.m-4 p.m., in the O’Neill Community Center, 501 S. 4th Street. Registration and breakfast begin at 7:45 a.m.
Upon conclusion of the conference, participants will identify strategies for effectively assisting patients with mental and behavioral health issues to improve patient and caregiver communications.
LIMHP (Licensed Independent Mental Health Practioner) Laurie Millard will open the conference with a discussion on “Critical Incident Stress Syndrome.” Participants will learn the definition of the syndrome and the development of the illness. An examination of the similarities and differences with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Critical Incident Stress Syndrome will be discussed, among other issues.
Norfolk attorney Timothy Brogan will give a presentation on HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) entitled, “HIPAA Communication to Families/Advanced Directives/POA w/Mental Health Patients.” Brogan will outline current HIPAA regulations with specific attention to further restrictions under Nebraska state law as to mental health patients. Participants will learn effective and legally compliant communications with family members of patients with a mental illness or a terminal illness in addition to discussing compliance with advance directives in light of communication with family members.
Following lunch, Rhonda Pettitt, a University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing instructor, will lead a session that will allow conference participants to learn how to identify the general description of neurocognitive disorder types and the changes that occur through the disease process. In the session, “Neurocognitive Disorders Awareness for Caregivers,” Pettitt will also discuss the potential causes of behaviors that occur with neurocognitive disorder types. Participants will learn to identify medical and non-medical approaches for treatment of neurocognitive disorders and identify activities for redirection and prevention of distressing behaviors.
The final presenter of the day, Jolene Lichty, LMHP, from O’Neill, will lead a session that will identify mental health issues in people with a serious or terminally ill prognosis, specifically depression and anxiety.
In her session, “Through the Eyes of a Cancer Patient,” Lichty will examine symptoms and treatment of depression and anxiety related to people with serious or terminally ill prognosis and explore diagnosis and dynamics of depression and anxiety in relationships paralleled with serious illness.
The conference will also feature blood sugar and blood pressure screenings for participants. Those planning on taking advantage of the blood sugar screening should fast for 10 hours prior to the screening.
The Northeast Community College O’Neill Health Conference has been approved by the Washington State Nurses Association Continuing Education Approval and Recognition Program (CEARP) for six nurse contact hours of continuing education.
Pre-registration is requested by Friday, June 23, with a cost of $75. Participants seeking contact hours are asked to register with course number NURS5115 and CRN #60019. Attendance for the entire day and an evaluation at the workshop conclusion is required for contact hours.
To register, for further information or a schedule of the conference, go online to www.northeast.edu/2017/Oneill-Health/ or contact Northeast Community College in O’Neill at
(402) 336-3590 or (800) 421-6322. Completed registration forms and payment may also be sent to the Northeast Community Extended Campus, 505 East Highway 20, O’Neill, NE 68763-0269.
For more information about continuing education contact hours, contact Heather Claussen, director of allied health at Northeast, at (402) 844-7334.
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