Cuddigan Law Supports NAMI in the Wake of “Patient Dumping”

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One in four adult Americans experience a mental health disorder each year, and one in 17 suffers from a serious mental illness such as bipolar disorder, depression, or schizophrenia.

Omaha, Nebraska (PRWEB) June 03, 2014

The members of Cuddigan Law, P.C., L.L.O. are reaffirming their commitment to mental health sufferers nationwide by renewing their sponsorship of the annual National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Walks fundraiser on June 14. The nationwide NAMI Walks help raise awareness of the many forms of mental illness throughout the United States, promoting early intervention, continued research, and improved treatments. The organization relies on sponsorship and donations, providing all services at no cost to the public (1).

The “Nevada Busing” Scandal Calls Attention to Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill

While mistreatment of mentally ill patients has been occurring for years, the recent “patient dumping” scandal in Nevada has called attention to the tragic acts committed against suffering patients. In a CBS special report on mental health, Dan Rather revealed that Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas has allegedly been discharging mentally ill patients and sending them to California via one-way bus tickets instead of treating them (2). Many such patients had never been to California, had no family in the state, and were not given any follow-up treatment plans or housing arrangements. Investigators later discovered that Rawson-Neal, Nevada’s primary hospital for the care of the mentally ill, similarly shipped over 1,500 psychiatric patients to other states in the past 5 years (3).

NAMI Takes Aim at Perception, Intervention, and Treatment

Scandals such as the one in Nevada are unfortunately common, leaving mental health victims to suffer in silence from the “invisible disease.” According to NAMI’s website, one in four adult Americans experience a mental health disorder each year, and one in 17 suffers from a serious mental illness such as bipolar disorder, depression, or schizophrenia (4).

Members of the Cuddigan Law team annually support NAMI Nebraska by raising funds for the Walks, sponsoring walkers, mapping the walk route and assisting in set-up and registration. Timothy J. Cuddigan served as president of the organization’s Nebraska chapter from 2009-2013, and remains a dedicated NAMI member (5). He can be contacted at http://www.cuddiganlaw.com or at (402) 933-5405.

Anyone is welcome to take part in the walk on June 14, 2014 at Elmwood Park in Omaha. Participants may register or donate at NAMI Walks Nebraska.

Attribution:

1.    National Alliance on Mental Illness, “About NAMI.” nami.org/template.cfm?section=About_NAMI

2.    CBS News. May 5, 2014. lasvegas.cbslocal.com/2014/05/05/dan-rather-airing-mental-health-crisis-special/

3.    Sacramento Bee. May 29, 2014. sacbee.com/2014/04/15/6323879/bee-series-on-patient-dumping.html

4.    National Alliance on Mental Illness, “Mental Illness: Facts and Numbers.” nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf

5.    Cuddigan Law, “Timothy J. Cuddigan.” cuddiganlaw.com/bio/timothy-j--cuddigan.cfm

About Cuddigan Law

From offices in Omaha and Lincoln, Cuddigan Law, P.C., L.L.O., focuses exclusively on Social Security disability cases for clients in Nebraska and Iowa. This family law firm is run by the father and son team of Tim and Sean Cuddigan. Together, they bring their years of experience in Social Security disability law and national recognition to help overcome the challenges disability applicants face in dealing with the federal bureaucracy. Both father and son are members of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives—Tim is, in fact, a board member of that prestigious group—and they provide comprehensive client assistance for obtaining SSDI and SSI benefits, from the application stage to the final appeal.

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