Department sets goal of $50 million investment as part of President Obama's effort to help improve access and treatment for mental health problems

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2013 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has set a goal of investing up to $50 million to increase access to mental health care in rural areas over the next three years.  The funding will be used for the construction, expansion, or equipping of rural mental health facilities and will be provided through the Community Facilities direct loan program.  USDA's effort to provide better mental health care in rural areas is part of President Obama's ongoing commitment to address mental illness.

"We need to be sure that every American has access to quality mental health services, including Americans living in rural areas," said Vilsack.  "As part of the Obama Administration's effort to expand access to treatment for those suffering from mental health problems, USDA investments in mental health care facilities will reduce the difficulty many rural families face in accessing mental health help.  These funds can also help expand and improve upon the services already offered by mental health facilities in rural communities, many of which increasingly are focused on helping military veterans."

Today's funding announcement builds on key steps the Administration has already taken to reduce the stigma associated with seeking help for mental illness, and to ensure that millions more individuals have health insurance that covers mental health and substance use disorder services at parity with medical and surgical benefits.

Ensuring rural Americans have access to quality health care is a top priority for USDA. This year, USDA invested more than $649 million in 130 rural health care facilities - serving nearly 3.2 million rural residents. These investments included critical access hospitals, rural health clinics, psychiatric hospitals, mental health care facilities, group homes for people with disabilities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and vocation and medical rehabilitation facilities. USDA is also investing in innovative healthcare technologies such as telemedicine, to further expand access to health care services throughout rural America.

President Obama's plan for rural America has brought about historic investment and resulted in stronger rural communities. Under the President's leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way - strengthening America's economy, small towns and rural communities. USDA's investments in rural communities support the rural way of life that stands as the backbone of our American values.

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Most people have a vague idea of what's good and bad for our skin, but since we don't  understand the biology involved, we either do nothing or the wrong things, says skin-care expert Ron Cummings.

"How many times do we find mixed reports on health? Are eggs good or bad for you? Too much sun is bad, but so is too little - there's so much information overload, many people shrug off what they don't fully comprehend," says Cummings, founder and CEO of AminoGenesis Skin Care, (www.aminogenesis.com).

In addition to environmental factors, such as smoke and excessive sun exposure, there are two primary biological processes that age our skin: oxidization and glycation, he says. Despite antioxidants being all the rage in recent years, few people are aware of what occurs through glycation - the process antioxidants are intended to combat.

"Glycation happens when a sugar molecule bonds with a protein. The protein then becomes misshapen. Collagen, which makes our skin look smooth and plump, is a protein that's particularly vulnerable. Cell damage through glycation results in wrinkles, lines and discoloration," he says.

To maintain youth - and even reverse some of that damage - Cummings offers these tips:

• Monitor your alcohol intake. Alcohol causes skin to get puffy and flush with dilated blood vessels. Over time, even moderate intake can cause permanent spider veins on one's face, chest, abdomen, arms, and hands. Damaged vessels leak, which causes discoloration and puffiness. Alcohol worsens common skin diseases such as psoriasis and rosacea; causes dehydration, which makes skin sag; causes a deficiency in nutrients, and impairs immune systems. The moderate intake of red wine, however, may help skin because red grapes are filled with antioxidants.

• Try to cut out most sugar. Americans average 150 pounds of sugar intake each year, according to the American Heart Association, and most eat and drink two to four times the amount they should. Sugar is a ubiquitous ingredient in the American diet and can be found in drinks and condiments. Sugar molecules - especially refined sugar, which is pure sucrose -- fuels glycation. In a European study, volunteers were asked to view photos of 602 people; those with the highest sugar intake were deemed to look the oldest. A high-sugar diet is also linked to diabetes.

• Keep an eye out for anti-glycation products. Most topical products maintain the skin's existing moisture by acting as a barrier. Other products utilize antioxidants to stabilize oxygen molecules that have lost electrons and cause damage to cell membranes when they take electrons from stable molecules. Products with newly discovered plant extracts address glycation by breaking the sugar molecule's bond with collagen, allowing the protein to return to its original shape.

"A new study of several French women who didn't change their diets showed that just 60 days of regular use of anti-glycation serum made them look eight to 10 years younger," Cummings says. "I've seen the pictures and read the research - it's stunning."

About Ron Cummings

Ron Cummings is the founder and CEO of AminoGenesis Skin Care, which utilizes amino acids as the key ingredients to its age- and damage-reversing products. The formula for the solution features 17 plant-purified amino acids, which are necessary for healthy and radiant skin. The company's formulas include anti-glycation properties, which are very rare in today's skin-care products. Cummings donated one of his products, a protective agent, to support military forces in Afghanistan and received a hearty letter of gratitude from the Marines of Special Operations Company Bravo, which described the product's excellent performance, as well as a flag that was flown "in the face of the enemy, over Forward Operating Base Robinson in Sangin, Afghanistan."

The holidays and their aftermath are the busiest time of year for long-term care admissions, says expert Chris Orestis.

"Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, families get together and many are seeing Mom and/or Dad for the first time in months," says Orestis, senior health-care advocate and CEO of Life Care Funding, (www.lifecarefunding.com).

"Some will discover that their parent's health has declined and he or she should not be left to live on their own any longer."

Warning signs that your parent may need to be evaluated for in-home nursing assistance, or a move to a more supportive setting, include :

• Confusion or forgetfulness about taking medications
• Unstable/unbalanced (at risk of falling)
• Change in hygiene habits or personality

"Most families are not prepared for this, they don't have a plan or resources, so the situation becomes traumatic and heart-breaking for everyone," Orestis says. "It doesn't have to be that way. Every family should be talking about this now and exploring options."

He offers these tips to help families better plan:

• Remember, there are many levels of care available. From a few hours of in-home assistance each week to residential communities that provide daily assistance with meals, laundry, etc., to a nursing home that provides round-the-clock care, there are many options to consider. Generally speaking, finding ways to keep your loved one at home for as long as possible is the least disruptive - and least expensive - option.

• Avoid resorting to Medicaid if at all possible. Nursing-home care costs start at $5,000 to $8,000 a month, which is often beyond the means of people otherwise considered financially healthy. Many families turn to Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, but it comes with many restrictions, including choice of facilities. In a situation where one spouse is healthy and the other is not, the spouse living independently will also face restrictions on the amount of assets he or she can retain, for instance, as of July 1, 2013, a maximum $2898.00 for monthly maintenance.

• Don't simply stop paying on a life insurance policy to save money. Any life insurance policy can be converted into a protected Long-Term Care Benefit fund which will pay for any level of care, from in-home to hospice. Policy holders typically receive 30 to 60 percent of the death benefit value when they convert the policy specifically to pay for long-term care. The benefit qualifies as a Medicaid spend-down, which means they'll still be eligible for that program if the money runs out.

About Chris Orestis

Chris Orestis, nationally known senior health-care advocate and expert is CEO of Life Care Funding, which created the model for converting life insurance policies into protected Long-Term Care Benefit funds. His company has been providing care benefits to policy holders since 2007. A former life insurance industry lobbyist with a background in long-term care issues, he created the model to provide an option for middle-class people who are not wealthy enough to pay for long-term care, and not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.

As a well-traveled, well-educated couple who spent most of their lives in New York City, Philip and Ruth Barash had witnessed and experienced much as they approached their golden years. A savvy New York couple, they'd learned to anticipate challenges.

Philip was a U.S. Army veteran who'd served in the Korean War and later became an attorney; Ruth's education and experience includes philosophy, art, real estate, public relations and executive-level civic work. But one problem they didn't foresee was navigating their own country's health-care system. In the most prominent city of the wealthiest nation on the planet, how bad could it be?

"Philip's health problems began in 1988 and steadily continued until his death in 2012," says Barash, who shares her health-care experiences in a new book, "For Better or Worse: Lurching from Crisis to Crisis in America's Medical Morass," (http://forbetterorworsebook.com/).

"We were in and out of doctors' offices, hospitals and emergency rooms a lot, and I was shocked by the lack of compassion we frequently encountered, as well as the number of health-care professionals who simply are not good diagnosticians."

Barash's cautionary tale traces her husband's long death through a medical journey fraught with mismanagement and excess, useless interventions and a sometimes complete disregard for pain - even when there was no hope of healing.

"The art of intuitive, compassionate health care is dying as doctors rely more on technology and are guided through an arbitrary template established by insurance company policies," she says.

Barash discusses some of the lessons she has learned while navigating overcrowded and dingy emergency room lobbies, callous staff and tech-absorbed doctors.

• Have an advocate! Through the years of Philip's health problems, we encountered extreme kindness, thoughtfulness and high intelligence; we were also confronted with arrogance, indifference and self-serving staff during some of the worst moments. As hard as it was for both of us, we always knew we had each other. If and when you find yourself requiring medical assistance, avoid going it alone; it will be exponentially more difficult, and your chance for survival will exponentially decrease.

• Ask what benefits a proposed treatment will have. We all like to think we have good doctors, and that if we're hospitalized, we'll be competently cared for. We also like to think Santa will bring us nice presents if we've been good children. Realize that invasive and expensive tests are often not necessary; in fact, they often make things worse. Be as skeptical about a procedure proposed by a doctor as you would by any salesman.

• Don't get sick! While this may seem like a facetious bit of advice, since we all succumb to illness at some point - it's actually a sincere sentiment. Do not take your health for granted; do not think "they" will invent a quick fix between now and the time you find yourself in need of serious medical attention. Unnecessary health risks such as smoking; illegal drug use; excessive alcohol intake; and a diet filled with sugar, salt and fat will take you sooner rather than later to the hellish journey known as the U.S. health-care system.

About Ruth Fenner Barash

Ruth Fenner Barash studied philosophy at City College of New York and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. In 1958, she met and married Philip Barash, a private practice attorney. She went on to work in public relations and real estate, served education and civic organizations at the executive level, and taught art in various media. Her long marriage was a "harmonious adventure" despite the couple's treacherous journey through the health-care system. Her husband died in 2012.