Behavioral Health

Free radon test kits are available from Dec. 1 through Feb. 28 at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension offices and partner offices statewide. Nevadans are encouraged to take advantage of this free offer to test their homes for this radioactive, colorless gas that comes from the ground, accumulates in homes and can cause lung cancer.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 21,000 Americans die each year from radon-caused lung cancer, killing more people than secondhand smoke, drunk driving, falls in the home, drowning or house fires.

The nights are chilly but the fall days still warm up nicely (usually), In Carson City. Treadway Park is a quiet small gem of a park next to the Carson Tahoe Care Center (The "old" hospital ) and Carson Behavioral Health.

The park is close to where William Street ends west at Minnesota. Easy parking access is at 775 Fleischmann Street next to the hospital. Treadway Park is named in honor of a pioneer Carson City man, Aaron Treadway, who had a 10-acre ranch at this location.

The Division of Public and Behavioral Health on Monday notified medical marijuana establishment applicants of the results of the Division’s rigorous evaluation process to determine provisional certification to operate a medical marijuana cultivation, dispensary, laboratory, or production establishment.

In Carson City, two dispensaries, Nevada Organix LLC and one not named, received provisional license approval. See the full list here. Go here for provisional licenses for marijuana cultivation facilities, where there are seven in Carson City. Four Carson City applicants received license approvals for production facilities. There were no applicants in Carson City for independent testing laboratories.

Carson City – The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health recognizes the month of October as Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), Pregnancy, and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and Oct. 15 as National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.

The DPBH is working to reduce pregnancy loss and infant mortality rates through collaboration and participation in both the Learning Network on Improving Birth Outcomes and Collaborative Improvement & Innovation Network to Reduce Infant Mortality (CoIIN), as well as funding a pilot Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) in Washoe County.

UPDATE: Carson City firefighters were called at 12:06 p.m. Wednesday to a fire involving a propane gas barbecue in area of 1900 Beverly Drive, according to Carson City dispatch.

Firefighters on call at Technology Way, where smoke was seen coming from a state health building, were moved to the Beverly Way fire. That fire was extinguished at 12:22 p.m. It was a barbecue on fire with flames coming out of the propane tank.

Gov. Brian Sandoval proclaimed September as National Preparedness Month in Nevada. The Nevada Division of Emergency Management/Homeland Security, and the Division of Public and Behavioral Health urges Nevadans to prepare for an emergency that would require self-reliance for three days without utilities and electricity, water service, access to a supermarket or local services, household medical needs, and possibly without response from police, fire or rescue.

CARSON CITY — A total of 174 applications were submitted by Monday’s deadline to operate 76 medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada, the state Division of Public and Behavioral Health reported.

Nevada middle and high school students and schools are encouraged to enter in the Nevada Prescription Drug Prevention Video Contest sponsored by Gov. Brian Sandoval and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

This is an opportunity for Nevada students to get creative and use social media to promote awareness about prescription drug abuse and encourage their peers to stay away from abusing prescription drugs.

Winners will be selected from each Nevada school district. Final winners will be announced Nov. 3, 2014.

The Nevada Medicaid Health Care Guidance Program, a new integrated physical and behavioral care management program serving thousands of eligible Nevada Fee-for-Service Medicaid enrollees, is pleased to announce its leadership team: Cheri Glockner, Executive Director; Erin Snell, Behavioral Health Program Director; and Dr. Amy J. Khan and Dr. Ryan M. Ley, Medical Directors.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension invites Nevada students to showcase their artistic talents and promote radon awareness by entering the 2015 Nevada Radon Poster Contest.

The contest is open to all children ages 9 to 14 years old enrolled in public, private, territorial, tribal, Department of Defense and home schools. Children can also enter through a sponsoring club, such as an art, computer, library, reading, science, scouting, youth or 4-H club.

Proposed 2015 health insurance for individual and small group markets in Nevada are now available online, state Insurance Commissioner Scott J. Kipper announced Thursday. The proposed rates are for plans sold both on and off Nevada’s health insurance exchange.

Nevadans who wish to view proposed health insurance rates for plan year 2015 can go here. The Division has made proposed rate information available in two different formats.

The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health launched two new Nevada-specific websites Tuesday to help schools protect students from sexual assaults on college campuses.

The websites, www.preventsexualviolenceNV.org and www.stepupstopviolence.org, define sexual assault and consent and offer approaches for individuals, students, and community members to safely intervene when observing a potentially high-risk situation.

The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health will offer a Safe Sleep awareness event Wednesday, July 16 from 10 to noon at the Smith’s Food & Drug Store at 750 South Meadows Parkway, Reno.

The event hopes to draw new mothers and help them in the prevention of No. 1 cause of infant death between the ages of one month and one year. A Safe Sleep bus provided by the Regional Transportation Commission will be on site, as well as Safe Sleep and injury prevention materials from DPBH and Cribs for Kids of Safe Kids Washoe County.

Have questions about the state's marijuana laws and the new city ordinance? Join Partnership Carson City and Sierra Nevada Forums for a special forum Monday that will address these and more.

The July 14 forum, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Bob Boldrick Theater inside the Carson City Community Center, will present an explanation of the Nevada Revised Statute 453A relating to medical marijuana, and the new Carson City ordinance outlining the zoning for medical marijuana production and distribution facilities as they relate to the future of medical marijuana in Carson City.

Grab your clubs and spend a day hitting the links to raise money for cancer research. Behavioral Health Services will host the first Carson City Relay for Life Golf Tournament at Empire Ranch Golf Course on June 21, 2014. Entry fee is $65 and it gets you the round of golf, cart, barbecue lunch, awards ceremony. Prizes for closest to the pin and longest drives.

The tournament is scramble format, with 8 a.m. registration and 9 a.m. shotgun start. To enter call (775) 445-7352 or go to Behavior Health Services at 1080 Minnesota Street.

Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Council on Tuesday approved its first round of recommendations to improve the state’s struggling mental health system, but whether any will be enacted remains a question given Nevada’s revenue challenges and competing priorities.

Immunize Nevada and the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health met Tuesday at Carson Tahoe Women’s Health Institute for an event to educate Nevadans about Text4baby and to encourage expecting and first time mothers to do something for themselves this Mother’s Day and enroll in Text4baby.

The speakers, including Senator Ben Kieckhefer, from Washoe District 16; Vickie Ives, a representative from the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health; and Julia Peek, a mother of two and Text4baby user, spoke about the benefits of the program in helping build strong Nevada families.

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto observes National Crime Victim’s Rights Week, which began April 6th, reminds Nevadans of their rights, and promotes the Victim Information Notification Everyday (VINE) program.

Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center has recently earned Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals.

The Joint Commission is the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. As the only Joint Commission accredited hospital in the Carson City, Douglas County region, the award acknowledges Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center’s dedication to continuous compliance and health care excellence with The Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards.

A survey of Nevada high school students shows gradual trending in risky behavior, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health announced Tuesday.

Results of the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a biennial, anonymous, voluntary survey of students in grades 9 through 12 in traditional, public high schools, assess six risk areas that contribute to the leading causes of death and disease among youth.

Carson City Health and Human Services continues to partner with the following agencies on the rabies investigation: Nevada Department of Agriculture, Douglas County Animal Services, Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Office of Epidemiology, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UPDATE: Carson City residents are undergoing preventative treatment for rabies after being exposed to a puppy that tested positive for the disease. At this time, Carson City Health and Human Services is investigating the origin of this rabies exposure.

The infected puppy, a boxer/collie mix from a litter of 10 born Dec. 9, 2013, was purchased in January from a private owner in the Minden/Gardnerville area via Facebook.

CARSON CITY — As flu season is upon us, it is imperative to be properly informed. Misinformation is common, and it is encouraged that residents seek information from credible resources. The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health confirms there have been recent deaths in Nevada and nationwide associated with severe complications of the virus.

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge all that if you have not gotten your flu vaccination yet this season, now is the time. In addition, and especially with the abundance of holiday activities, it is important to take additional measures to prevent getting or spreading disease.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed an executive order on Friday establishing the Governor’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Council.

The Council will examine ways of improving and strengthening the systems of support and delivery of services to those living with behavioral health conditions in Nevada, officials said Monday. An analysis of Nevada’s mental health system, which began in May, will also be evaluated by the council.

CARSON CITY – The official web site for a campaign that will revolutionize HIV/AIDS prevention and care in Nevada, betonthisnv.org launched Tuesday.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors meet today, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center, 851 East William Street. Go here for the agenda and go here to watch it live.

Among other things, supervisors will:

Carson City – A settlement reached with pharmaceutical GlaxoSmithKline and the Nevada Attorney General's Office will give the state's Division of Public and Behavioral Health more than $1 million as part of the agreement with the money going toward immunization initiatives.

The National Governors Association has picked Nevada to participate in the Learning Network on Improving Birth Outcomes designed to assist states with their policies and practices relevant to improving birth outcomes, defined and measured by incidence of preterm births and infant mortality.

“We are honored to be selected for the Learning Network on Improving Birth Outcomes,” said Tracey D. Green, M.D., Chief Medical Officer. “I am encouraged to see that NGA recognizes birth outcomes as a significant public health challenge.”

Agencies and schools throughout Carson City will participate in an earthquake drill Thursday morning. Along with millions of people worldwide, Nevadans are encouraged to “Drop, Cover and Hold On” at 10:17 a.m. on Oct. 17 for the 2013 Great Nevada ShakeOut.

State agencies throughout the Carson City area, as well as the Public Health Preparedness Program of the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, the Nevada Division of Emergency Management, and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources plan to participate in the earthquake drill.