Response Posts Entered the discussion thread on 3 separate days. Wrote at least two posts to two separate peers. Responses are appropriate to the topic, substantive, and promoted discussion by one or

Response Posts Entered the discussion thread on 3 separate days. Wrote at least two posts to two separate peers. Responses are appropriate to the topic, substantive, and promoted discussion by one or
Discussion A Mental health is a prominent issue in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. There is a high rate of suicide that likely correlates with a lack of mental health treatment. The lack of mental health treatment is not only prominent in Winnebago County but throughout the Nation. Those who have a substance use disorder can increase the threat of suicidality (ideation or attempts). Opiates, tobacco, and alcohol are the top substances that are impacting those in Winnebago County. Registered nurses ar e able to be an advocate for this matter through educating themselves and others in the community. As a citizen of Winnebago County and a nurse at the State mental health institute, I was not aware of the county being a member of NEW Mental Health Connecti on and implementing a program called Healthy Teen Minds or the Winnebago County Drug and Alcohol Coalition. I believe as the Institute is indeed a State facility that takes admits from all over, we may not be aware and utilizing our local resources for tho se who can use them. Joining together with the County could help us provide more resources for those patients being discharged from an inpatient setting back into the community. Also, having an RN who works between the County and the State mental health fa cility would allow collaboration between both and an improved continuation of care. Another way that nurses can improve the issue of substance use in patients with suicidal tendencies is to work on creating a safe and supportive environment to help in endi ng the stigma of mental health. It is known that substance use is often a proxy for what actually is going on with the patient, such as unhealed trauma. More often than it should be assumptions and judgements are passed on from treatment team members to th ese patients. Putting this bias aside can help us get to the root of the problem and provide effective treatment. As Dr. Peter Attia said, “Most of them want to do the right thing, but they have to know what it is and it has to work” (TED, 2013). Addressin g these issues when they first occur, would greatly decrease the risk of substance use and suicidal tendencies in patients as they grow older. These identified problems are occurring at an extremely high rate throughout the Nation and do not have the appro priate resources to provide the best care. Finding ways to address the determinants of health such as lack of insurance coverage, lack of facilities, high cost of services, as well as ending the discrimination towards people who have come forward with ment al health problems is imperative in addressing this issue. We also need to be using the public health nursing process of community assessment, program planning, and evaluation process (Stanhope, Lancaster, 202 Discussion B Over time, the healthcare ind ustry has realized the value in public and population health. The American Public Health Association defines p ublic health as a way of promoting and protecting the health of people and their communities. In fact, “public health saves money, improves our qu ality of life, helps children thrive and reduces human suffering” (American Public Health Association, n.d.). The role of the public health nurse has been essential in population -based healthcare. After speaking with a nurse at the Delaware County Health Department, I realize that the major health concerns in our community are heart disease, cancer, and mental health problems including suicide. As a leading health issue in our community, heart disease has become the number one cause of death from 2015 -2019 in Delaware County (Pennsylvania Department of Health, n.d.). It is pertinent to address this topic at a preventative, public health level. There are many ways in which a nurse could improve this issue at a population level. One way would be through a comm unity outreach project involving nurses screening community for high blood pressure. These nurses could then aid in getting referrals or follow -up visits for patients with hypertension. Another method could be through health teaching, educating patients at outpatient clinics or in the hospital about taking their blood pressure, heart rate, weight, eating a low -salt diet, exercises, etc., and their importance in maintaining a heart -healthy lifestyle. Additionally, nurses who have seen patients at these outre ach projects, clinics, or inpatient stays, could call to follow -up and reinforce teachings. Public health nursing is important at all of these levels as these nurses are “promoting the health of the individual, the community in which they work and, ultimat ely, the entire population” (Glasper, 2013). Working in the Emergency Room at Lankenau Medical Center, I see a lot of patients coming in with cardiac issues. I do feel as if many of my colleagues also encounter a similar patient population due to the fact that the rate for deaths related to heart disease are actually higher in the state of Pennsylvania than they are in Delaware County, meaning this issue is fairly rampant throughout the state ( Pennsylvania Department of Health, n.d.) . I’m sure there are som e issues that are more prevalent in my community however I do feel as though heart disease is a wide -reaching problem. Listening to Dr. Attia’s TED Talk makes me wonder more about the cause and effect of heart disease. We know that some of it is genetic, a nd some of it is environmental or modifiable. As Dr. Attia stated, most people want to do what’s right for their own health, but in order to do that they have to know what the right thing to do is and more importantly, it has to work (TED, 2013). We know s ome of it is unavoidable, but I think we blame patients for the modifiable risk factors that they don’t adjust in their lives. We judge people and write them off as non – compliant. But what if we’re looking at it the wrong way? Maybe people who are meant to lost weight don’t because they can’t afford healthy food or don’t have enough time between working three jobs to exercise. Maybe those patients that haven’t taken their blood pressure medications aren’t being noncompliant, but they don’t have the money fo r a copay, have no way to get to the pharmacy, or had to work overtime and couldn’t pick it up while the pharmacy was open. Maybe the patient with heart failure who came in with a ten pound weight gain over three days wasn’t taking her diuretic because she ’s having plumbing issues, or was going on a long trip to see her grandkids and didn’t want to have to use the bathroom on the way, or maybe they didn’t understand their fluid restriction, they didn’t understand what was excluded in a low -sodium diet, or t hey didn’t even have a scale to notice how much wright they gained. When we change our perspective, we change the narrative. When we change the narrative, we can change how we treat the issue and prevent it in the future