mental health
VA veterans crisis line to face new investigation by congressional watchdog agency
WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office plans to investigate multiple whistleblower allegations of “gross mismanagement” at the Department of Veterans Affairs veterans crisis line, following a request from Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, States Newsroom has learned. Moran, ranking member on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the VA secretary this week […]
New technology helps Oklahoma officers, clinicians provide mental health care
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Gene Bradley stared down the reality that an armed man who threatened to end his life might die like so many others experiencing a mental health crisis. But on that fall day in 2021, Bradley had a tool that would make a difference – an iPad that quickly […]
A lifeline: Free mental health hotline serves thousands of Oklahomans
A new free mental health hotline fielded tens of thousands of calls from Oklahomans during its first year. The national 988 hotline launched in Oklahoma in July 2022, and operators have answered 50,000 calls for help, reports from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services show. The hotline is a federally funded […]
Oklahoma commissioner on mental health, substance abuse services to depart
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s top mental health official announced Tuesday that she plans to step down. Commissioner Carrie Slatton-Hodges said she will leave the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for a national position. Her final day on the job will be Dec. 31. Slatton-Hodges, a longtime licensed professional counselor, has led […]
OU Health begins construction on behavioral health center for children
OKLAHOMA CITY — Officials broke ground Wednesday on a new pediatric behavioral health center at OU Health that will be the first of its kind in the state. Once complete, the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Behavioral Health Center will have 72 beds for children to receive short-term and long-term mental health care. The three-story, 172,755-square-foot […]