State grants combat ‘toxic’ Sandy stress

By KEITH HEUMILLER

RED BANK — While superstorm Sandy caused tens of billions of dollars in physical damage across New Jersey, state and area health officials say its most lasting impacts could be emotional.

State Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd joined a panel of area health professionals at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank May 28 to discuss the health problems, emotional disorders and other impacts likely to accompany the “toxic” stress caused by the storm.

Highlighting a new $4 million federal grant program designed to help local Sandy victims connect with valuable mental health services, O’Dowd said such impacts can linger for years.

“Stress can disable individuals,” she said. “It can exacerbate disease that already exists. It can create new chronic illnesses for an individual to deal with and now manage, as well.

“It can create issues of depression and other behavioral health issues that can lead to substance abuse, negatively impact relationships and create a new stress for that family or that community dynamic.”

O’Dowd opened the roundtable discussion with a video highlighting the struggles of two young boys in storm-ravaged Sea Bright, where a large cross-section of residents remain displaced nearly 19 months later.

One boy, whose mother lost her job at a borough restaurant following the storm, reminisced about the local basketball court that used to be a gathering point for neighborhood kids. He was pictured playing alone, throwing a basketball against the wall of a house.

The other boy, who remains displaced, spoke of how he had learned to appreciate having a home to return to at the end of the day.

Such impacts, according to the panel, have led to a documented rise in depression, anxiety and other mental health issues in children who were victims of previous natural disasters.

Dr. Margaret Fisher, pediatric specialist with Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, said those stresses can lead to developmental problems, risky behaviors, suicide attempts and even significant health problems, such as heart or liver disease, that manifest decades later.

O’Dowd said those impacts also extend to adults and seniors, as researchers have found a link between post-disaster communities and a rise in the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder, household discord, substance abuse and domestic violence.

She said households impacted by Hurricane Katrina were found to be more likely to split apart, while North Carolina communities devastated by Hurricane Floyd saw a five-fold increase of “inflicted traumatic brain injuries” in children under the age of 2, indicating a rise in child abuse.

A recent study in New Jersey found a 5.8 percent increase in anxiety disorders, a 7.7 percent increase in post-traumatic stress disorders, and an 8.1 percent increase in substance abuse among Sandy-impacted senior populations, O’Dowd added.

“So, we are already seeing some evidence here in New Jersey of the impact,” she said.

The new state program, funded by $4 million in federal Social Services Block Grants, will allow select community health centers and medical providers to begin screening for mental and emotional health impacts in the most Sandy-impacted communities.

With the aid of new, licensed clinical social workers, diagnostic tools and case management personnel, the health centers will also be able to refer children and adults for evaluation, treatment and other social services, officials said.

“What we would like to do is turn those stresses around into resilience,” said Fisher, who is also president of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The first phase of the program, announced in April, awarded $2.2 million to three hospital systems and seven community health centers, which expect to serve 48,000 residents throughout the next year.

Meridian Hospitals Corp. — which operates Riverview, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Bayshore Community Hospital and Southern Ocean Medical Center — received $600,000 under the program.

Company officials expect to serve 15,000 Monmouth and Ocean County residents through Meridian’s outpatient primary care centers and mobile sites in the next year.

“Now is when we are really going to see people who are struggling and presenting for help,” said Dr. Joseph Miller, corporate director of neuroscience with Meridian Health.

“Our hope is that this grant is going to help us reach as many people as possible who were affected by the storm and who are still carrying some of that baggage.”

The Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey will also provide screening and referral services through its community health centers in Asbury Park, Keansburg, Keyport and Red Bank.

Joining a host of other behavioral and mental health programs rolled out by state departments since the storm, panel members said this latest initiative will reach people who may not even know they need help.

Because emotional and mental health issues can often be masked by more prominent physical disorders, Miller said individuals are more likely to get help from a physician than a psychiatrist, even if their true problem isn’t physical.

“Unfortunately, these emotional difficulties are only recognized about 50 percent of the time,” he said.

By conducting mental health screenings during routine physicals and wellness visits, panel members said more of these issues could be caught early on.