Today the Senate Finance Committee passed the Health Care Reform Bill which, reportedly, will reduce the number of uninsured persons by half. Up to this date the media has focused on reforming’ the health care system, dollars for health care, and the concerns of ’big pharma’ and physicians. There has been very little talk about the most important component of reform.
The most important aspect of this reform is the state of wellness and the prevention of illness among citizens. Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Registered Professional Nurses (RNs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) are at the forefront of preventative health care and optimal wellness.
Nurse Practitioners own private practices, are the only health care provider in some areas of the United States, they provide telemedicine in rural areas, work in government on Capital Hill, are first assistants in surgical procedures, make house calls and the list goes on.
The National Institute of Mental Health reported that by the year 2020 depression will be the second most common health problem, after heart disease. What a eye opener!
Recently I had the pleasure of talking with a woman who has brought depression from darkness into the light and is working diligently to help reduce the cases of profound depression. she is Terrie M. Williams (picture above), mental health advocate, author and social worker. Williams is also President of her PR company, The Terrie Williams Agency, which is located in New York.
Terrie Williams has not been immune to depression. She lived with low grade depression for a lon period of time. Everyday she would go out into the world with her game face on. In 2004 she was officially diagnosed with depression. The pretense had ended! The depression had become so severe that she couldn’t get out of be and didn’t care if she got out of bed. It took all her energy just to get up. Her friends came to her aide because she wasn’t returning phone calls. The anxiety, depression and her thoughts of not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel was overpowering.
