See a photo gallery of Lobby day here.
By Ihuoma Njoku, MD
PGY-4, UVA Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences
Charlottesville, VA
On February 13, we started the day around 8:00 am in Richmond, discussing bills that were up to be voted on, or of interest that had been passed, and the legislators that we were planning to meet. Our meetings occurred after crossover, halfway through the legislative calendar. The bills that the house and senate have voted on separately are exchanged to be voted on by the other branch. In particular, HB 1389 to amend and reenact § 54.1-2969 of the Code of Virginia, relating to administration of medications treatment of mental illness or emotional disturbance; parental consent required. This bill provides that a minor shall not be deemed an adult for the purpose of consenting to administration of medication for the treatment of mental illness or emotional disturbance. Currently, a minor is deemed an adult for the purpose of consenting to medical and health services needed in the case of outpatient care, treatment, or rehabilitation for mental illness or emotional disturbance.
Six legislators and their staff were gracious enough to meet with us. All of those we spoke to had an interest in mental health and psychiatric services. Meeting with legislator Delegate Sally L. Hudson, we discussed the state of psychiatric hospitalizations in Virginia and the role of psychiatrists in this process.
After meeting with legislators, we met Nelson Smith, the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and several of his staff members. He discussed the state of 988 and crisis services in the state of Virginia. He expressed an interest in learning our perspective on the process of psychiatric hospitalization, issues with access to psychiatric care, and he was interested in hearing more about the collaborative care model of psychiatric care. In this model, a psychiatric consultant provides indirect patient care to primary care clinicians and a behavioral health manager on their panel of patients with identified psychiatric needs. The behavioral health manager is in contact with patients and all clinicians regularly, ensuring that communication is up to date, providing brief psychotherapy when needed, and assessing the progress of patients.
At the end of our day at the state capitol, we sat in the house chambers and were introduced by Senator R. Creigh Deeds. Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears acknowledged an appreciation of our work in mental health. These comments echoed the overall positive view of psychiatrists and appreciation of the increased demands for trained mental health professionals.
We would like to thank all of the Delegates, Senators, and their staff for meeting with us during their busy legislative session:
- Delegate Dawn M. Adams
- Delegate Betsy B. Carr
- Delegate Sally L. Hudson
- Delegate Lee Ware
- Senator Siobhan S. Dunnavant, MD
- Senator Ghazala F. Hashmi
HB 1389 Information: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+HB1389
Learn About the Collaborative Care Model: https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/professional-interests/integrated-care/learn/learn-about-integrated-care
