Press Release - Kicks off Forum for Campus Mental Health
OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.
WWW.COLORADO.GOV/GOVERNOR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, OCT. 2, 2009
CONTACT:
Wil Alston, 303-917-8059, wil.alston@state.co.us
FIRST LADY JEANNIE RITTER KICKS OFF FORUM FOR CAMPUS MENTAL HEALTH
First Lady Jeannie Ritter kicked off the first Forum for Campus Mental Health this morning in Breckenridge, CO; convening more than 75% of Colorado's two- and four-year colleges. Mrs. Ritter convened the collection of college administrators and representatives from campus student services, housing, counseling, and veteran affairs to discuss and develop strategies to address the changing mental health needs of today's college student.
"This is turning out to be so much more than we even expected," said the First Lady. "Today's event is a perfect example of how collaboration forms due to a tight economy. We didn't have a very big budget, but what we did have was the shared desire to get all the right players to the table to produce something that would better address the needs of the veterans and students on our college campuses."
Click here to listen to the First Lady discuss the forum.
The newly formed forum will convene all day today and feature various workshops and panels, a keynote address by Duke University professor Harold Kudler, and is a collaborative partnership between the Office of the First Lady, AstraZeneca, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Mental Health America of Colorado, and the Jefferson Center for Mental Health.
"This idea of successful transitions is really what we're empowering these participants to further commit to," said Ms. Ritter. "We want them to take what they discover back to their campuses and to their leadership."
Since taking office, First Lady Jeannie Ritter has been a devoted advocate for the various issues surrounding Mental Health.
Forum Agenda:
7:00 a.m. -- 8:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:00 a.m. -- 8:15 a.m. Introduction and Welcome, First Lady Jeannie Ritter
8:15 a.m. -- 9:00 a.m. Keynote: Harold Kudler, M.D., Soldiers on Campus
Associate Clinical Professor, Duke University
9:00 a.m. -- 9:45 a.m. Panel Discussion: Soldiers on Campus
- Harold Kudler, M.D.
- Robert House, M.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Denver Health
- Ron Langer, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Private Practice, Denver Tech Center
- Staff Sgt. Jose DeLuna, U.S. Army, Student
9:45 a.m. -- 10:00 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m. -- 10:45 a.m. Keynote: Ross Szabo, Director of Youth Outreach for the
National Mental Health Awareness Campaign,
the College Mental Health Landscape
10:45 a.m. -- 11:30 a.m. Panel Discussion: Campus Collaborative Care
- Ross Szabo
- Marshall Thomas M.D., Professor and Vice-Chair of Psychiatry, Executive Director, University of Colorado Denver Depression Center
- Jarrod Hindman, Director, Office of Suicide Prevention, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- Sarah Longanecker, Student with Lived Experience
11:30 a.m. -- 12:00 p.m. Lunch
12:00 p.m. -- 12:30 p.m. Collegiate Plan Presentation and Overview
12:30 p.m. -- 12:40 p.m. Overview of Team Structure and Planning
12:45 p.m. -- 1:45 p.m. Team Planning and Discussion
1:45 p.m. -- 3:00 p.m. Breakouts
3:05 p.m. -- 3:15 p.m. Closing Remarks, First Lady Jeannie Ritter
3:30 p.m. Conference Adjourns