Fairfax Hospital Staff to Participate in Seattle NAMI Walk for Mental Health Month

FAIRFAX, Wash. - (May 10, 2010) - As part of the Seattle chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and in conjunction with Mental Health Month, Fairfax Hospital is supporting a team in the chapter’s 2010 NAMI Walk at Magnuson Park at Sand Point in Seattle on May 15. The team will be led by Ioana Diaconu, M.D., and Jessica Arens, ARNP, two staffers at the full-service behavioral health facility.

Diaconu, Arens and the rest of the employees at Fairfax, a Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI) facility, are very familiar with the statistics and prevalence of mental illness in the U.S. The following mental illness facts can be found on Diaconu’s NAMI Web page:
• Mental illness affects between 20-50 percent of the population.
• Mental illness is the third leading cause of mortality for young adults and the second leading cause of morbidity in the general population following cardiovascular diseases and ahead of cancers, diabetes and cerebro-vascular diseases.
• An estimated 90 percent of suicides are the result of mental illness, specifically mood disorders.
• Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for more than 33,000 deaths per year. This equates to a rate of 11 suicides per 100,000 people.
• Compared to the general population, persons suffering from a major psychiatric illness will typically have a lifespan more than 25 years less than the average.

“These are just some sad but eye-opening statistics,” explained Diaconu. “But nothing can describe the reality of depression, the horrifying darkness of suicide or the tormenting struggle through loss and helplessness of ones left behind as a result of mental illness.”

Through NAMI walks in nearly 80 communities across the country, local NAMI chapters and advocates of mental illness are raising awareness and resources to help those suffering from mental health issues. By lifting the stigma associated with mental health issues and by raising money, more people will have access to the treatment they need and deserve to lead a normal life. Supporters are welcome to attend and participate in the Seattle NAMI Walk, and they are encouraged to visit www.nami.org/namiwalks10/sea/ioanadiaconu for more information.

Diaconu continues, “I am walking for the National Alliance on Mental Illness because change is imperative, and a lot still needs to be done to ensure care and treatment for psychiatric disorders are accessible for everyone. Through the work of organizations like Fairfax Hospital, NAMI chapters and willing individuals, suicide can be preventable and pain can be alleviated.”

About Fairfax Hospital

With 101 beds, Fairfax Hospital is Washington State’s largest freestanding, private inpatient psychiatric hospital providing inpatient, outpatient and partial hospitalization treatment programs for adults, adolescents and children ages 8 and older with psychological, emotional and behavioral problems. Fairfax Hospital provides behavioral health services with an emphasis on the qualities on compassion, respect, accountability and responsibility. For more information, visit www.fairfaxmediapsi.com

About Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI)

Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. offers an extensive continuum of behavioral health programs to critically ill children, adolescents and adults and is the largest operator of owned or leased freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities with more than 11,000 beds in 32 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. PSI also manages freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities for government agencies and psychiatric inpatient units within medical/surgical hospitals owned by others. For more information, please visit www.psychiatricsolutionsmedia.com

Jennifer June
(o) 615-780-3316
(c) 615-419-8000
jennifer.june@dvl.com

Kristin Hampel
(o) 615-780-3365
(c) 615-275-7926
kristin.hampel@dvl.com

209 Seventh Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37219

This release was published on openPR.