Pottstown Mental Health Case Study
Mental illness assessment in Pottstown, PA
Located only 20 miles southwest of Reading, PA on the Schuylkill River you will find Pottstown is an area densely populated with mental illness. According to the last national census held in 2010, Pottstown Borough is composed of about 75 % Caucasians, 17 % African American and about 8 % Hispanics. Population in 2014 was about 22,684 with 10,988 males and 11, 696 females (US Census, 2010). The community is mostly composed of lower-middle-class income families with the average income at $44,000. Mental health assessment of the community living in Pottstown Borough must be analyzed in the larger context of all other pressing issues in the community because they correlate and they have a direct impact …show more content…
A walk -in crisis center located in or close to Pottstown which provides an emergency psychiatric evaluation and inpatient psychiatric care especially for adolescents and younger adults. Special attention to dual diagnosis should be considered for residents of Pottstown borough along with homelessness.
These services should be available 24/7 and provided based on need and not on insurance coverage. Access to health care represents the biggest challenge for Pottstown residents, also affecting a proper diagnosis of mental health and subsequent referrals. Of the adult's ages, 18-64 in Pottstown Borough (14.4%; representing 2,000 adults) are almost twice as likely to lack health insurance coverage as adults in the area overall (7.6%) (Assessment of County, n.d.). Other barriers to proper mental health care for the community are associated with homelessness, socioeconomic factors, level of education, access to information and stigma associated surrounding mental illness. Families are still reluctant to seek help based on public opinion regarding mentally ill persons. Moreover, pushes for the education system introduce the subject of mental health to families and students could help reduce the
Located only 20 miles southwest of Reading, PA on the Schuylkill River you will find Pottstown is an area densely populated with mental illness. According to the last national census held in 2010, Pottstown Borough is composed of about 75 % Caucasians, 17 % African American and about 8 % Hispanics. Population in 2014 was about 22,684 with 10,988 males and 11, 696 females (US Census, 2010). The community is mostly composed of lower-middle-class income families with the average income at $44,000. Mental health assessment of the community living in Pottstown Borough must be analyzed in the larger context of all other pressing issues in the community because they correlate and they have a direct impact …show more content…
A walk -in crisis center located in or close to Pottstown which provides an emergency psychiatric evaluation and inpatient psychiatric care especially for adolescents and younger adults. Special attention to dual diagnosis should be considered for residents of Pottstown borough along with homelessness.
These services should be available 24/7 and provided based on need and not on insurance coverage. Access to health care represents the biggest challenge for Pottstown residents, also affecting a proper diagnosis of mental health and subsequent referrals. Of the adult's ages, 18-64 in Pottstown Borough (14.4%; representing 2,000 adults) are almost twice as likely to lack health insurance coverage as adults in the area overall (7.6%) (Assessment of County, n.d.). Other barriers to proper mental health care for the community are associated with homelessness, socioeconomic factors, level of education, access to information and stigma associated surrounding mental illness. Families are still reluctant to seek help based on public opinion regarding mentally ill persons. Moreover, pushes for the education system introduce the subject of mental health to families and students could help reduce the