The American Psychiatric Association (APA) commends the Kansas City region for launching a bold and innovative depression
initiative: "Depression in the Workplace: What Does It Mean to Our Community?" A town hall meeting on March 29, sponsored by
the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, showcased the Mid-America Coalition on Health Care's Community Initiative on
Depression (CID). This first-of-its-kind community initiative addresses undiagnosed and untreated depression and brings
together the key stakeholders in the healthcare system: business and other employers, employees and their dependents,
governmental and educational organizations, and physicians and health plans.
The initiative is an unprecedented approach that attracted representatives from nearly two dozen other metropolitan regions -
including New York City, Chicago, Atlanta and Minneapolis - to Kansas City for a private APA-sponsored National Invitational
to discuss how to replicate the program in their communities.
"If the Community Initiative on Depression were implemented across the country, the impact on the health and wellness of the
American people would be profound," said Norman A. Clemens, M.D., chair of the APA's Committee on Business Relations and a
Cleveland, Ohio-based psychiatrist. "Not only would it alleviate a great deal of unnecessary suffering, but it would also
produce significant economic benefits."
He continued: "We expect the CID to have a continuing and positive impact on both the residents and business community of
Kansas City, and that's why other communities are so interested. The simple truth is that depression is a real medical
illness - not just a 'bad day' or a character weakness - and it can be effectively treated."
The APA and its National Partnership for Workplace Mental Health have been involved with the CID for almost three years.
Early on, the APA recognized the CID's potential and was particularly impressed with both the community's commitment and the
outstanding staff and leadership of the Mid-America Coalition on Health Care.
The National Partnership, which is a collaboration of the APA and America's employers, was created to address mental health
issues in the workplace. The Partnership does this through a variety of free programs and materials, many of which are being
used in the CID, and all of which can be found at workplacementalhealth.
"If there's one thing we have learned, it's that employers need to understand the enormous cost of depression in the
workplace, through its impact on productivity, absenteeism, disability and other medical costs," said William L. Bruning,
J.D., M.B.A., president of the Mid-America Coalition on Healthcare, the employer partnership that developed and runs the CID.
"Once they understand what undiagnosed and untreated depression is doing to their bottom line, business becomes the engine
for change since they're the major purchaser of health care in the community."
A U.S. Surgeon General report reveals that untreated depression costs businesses as much as $79 billion per year. Moreover,
recent research shows that depression is among the most treatable of all medical illnesses, said Dr. Clemens. Between 70 and
80 percent of people with depression respond well to treatment, which may include talk therapy, medication or a combination
of both. Depression can strike at any time, he said, but most often it appears for the first time during the prime "working
years" of life.
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society, founded in 1844, whose more than 35,000
physician members specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illnesses including substance use
disorders. For more information, visit the APA Web site at psych.
Don't miss APA's 2005 Annual Meeting: Psychosomatic Medicine: Integrating Psychiatry & Medicine in Atlanta, May 21-26, 2005.
Please visit APA's online press room for news releases, press policies, and media registration information - psych/news_room/virtual_pressrms/am2005.
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