Volunteers sought for mental health disaster-response team

Monday, Jan. 19, 2004 | 8:52 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services is looking for volunteers to become part of a mental health disaster-response team.

Carlos Brandenburg, director of the division, said a terrorist attack produces mental health problems in addition to physical injuries and property damage. Even the threat of an attack can result in "fear, uncertainty and confusion," Brandenburg said.

Dave Caloairo of the division is trying to recruit volunteers -- registered nurses, licensed social workers, family therapists, substance abuse counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists -- through Jan. 30.

The division will provide training to these individuals to help during state or national disasters.

Brandenburg said fear and uncertainty are increased in the event of a terror threat.

"Terrorists thrive on this," he said. "Bioterrorism capitalizes on dread."

When the anthrax scare hit Nevada in 2001, Brandenburg said the Clark County Health District was "inundated with calls" from people who thought they had been exposed.

"We better be prepared to deal with the mental health aspect (of an attack)," he said.

The division has received a $100,000-a-year federal grant, which is being used to prepare a mental health disaster plan, and another annual grant of $381,710 for four years, Brandenburg said. With part of that money, Brandenburg wants to hire disaster and mental health coordinators to run the program. Part of the money will be used for training staff and volunteers, he said.

A new survey by the National Mental Health Association said Americans feel the country's elected officials and health networks have not done enough to address mental health needs related to terrorists threats. The survey, released last week, said 93 percent of Americans agree the primary goal of a terrorist attack is to generate fear and distress.

The survey, conducted by Widmeyer Research and Pollings of Washington, D.C., questioned 750 adults in early December. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The opinion poll found that 57 percent of those questioned felt the nation's public health system was not meeting the mental health needs of the public that result from the threat of terrorism.

Brandenburg said the division does a good job in treating adults with mental illness. "(But) this is virgin territory for us," he said. "There are few studies of the psycho-social impact of terrorism."

Some recent studies showed emergency responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks suffered "heavy duty trauma," Brandenburg said. People who want to volunteer should write to Caloairo at the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, 505 E. King St., Room 602, Carson City, NV, 89701 or call (775) 684-5970.