FORT LUPTON, Colo. -- Suicide rates, overdoses and substance abuse all are on the rise since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

Colorado's community health centers have seen a dramatic increase in patients in need of care.

Jonathan Muther, vice president of medical services for Salud Family Health Centers, which operates 13 clinics serving both rural and metropolitan residents, said before COVID-19, nearly one in five patients presented symptoms of mental illness or substance-use disorder. Since the pandemic, one in three present symptoms, but most cannot access care.

"Even before the pandemic, more than half of the individuals with an identified need did not receive access to care," Muther recounted. "And that gap has only widened since the pandemic."

Last week, Muther told members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions his team has responded to the increased need in part by expanding telehealth efforts. But he argued more needs to be done to remove barriers that prevent people from getting care, including lack of adequate health coverage, not knowing where to get help, social stigma, and a lack of non-English-speaking staff.

Changes in how federally qualified health centers are reimbursed would give more providers the flexibility to meet people in need of care where they are.

Muther pointed to Salud's integrated approach to care, where people get mental-health screenings whenever they check in with their primary-care provider, vision specialist or dentist.

"We structurally embed a behavioral-health visit in the context of the medical visit, whether that's in person or via telehealth," Muther explained. "We have behavioral-health providers that just do a proactive outreach to individuals in order to recognize a mental-health concern as early as possible and be able to do something about it."

Adults are most likely to reveal symptoms, which can include increased anxiety or depression, but also physical manifestations such as chronic head or stomach aches, to their doctor.

Muther added getting more mental-health professionals into schools can help reach children. Clinics have also successfully reached patients who don't get regular checkups through targeted outreach.

Rates of suicide among young people have increased by about 36% in roughly the last two decades and the surge has caught the attention of federal policymakers.

The Biden administration has a new National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and a Federal Action Plan, highlighting the need for a coordinated approach to prevention and equity in treatment and research. It follows the Bipartisan Policy Center's launch of a youth mental health task force in January.

Val Demings, co-chair of the Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force and a former member of Congress from Florida, said in Sioux Falls last week rural communities face unique mental health challenges.

"For example, having access to care, the affordability of care, removing the stigma," Demings outlined. "You may be in a substandard educational setting. You may also have substance abuse, addiction in the household. And so we have got to, as a nation, deal with the social ills that cause decay in certain communities in the first place."

A big focus of the task force is a link between suicide and increased use of technology and social media. The U.S. Surgeon General said young teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media are at double the risk of mental health struggles, including depression and anxiety.

Technology can also be used to help deliver health care services in rural places. In 2021, the Helmsley Charitable Trust launched a virtual crisis care program in South Dakota, equipping law enforcement with iPads, so they can connect people with mental health professionals by video.

Walter Panzirer, trustee of the trust, has seen positive results.

"We had a 75% reduction of transports to the mental health facilities," Panzirer pointed out. "They were able to get care at home, locally; 25% of the calls were for youth."

People living in rural places are almost twice as likely to twice as likely than those living in large cities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency said South Dakota had the fifth-highest suicide rate in the country in 2021 at over 200 deaths.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

New continuing education classes can help New York psychologists better work with disabled patients.

The courses center on understanding disabilities - providing universal access for patients with disabilities, ethics, and cultural competence.

Sharon McLennon-Wier, Ph.D. - executive director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York - said in developing the curriculum, there were certain takeaways people should have.

"The first step really is for people to understand that a disability is a disability, and there are going to be barriers to the environment with it," said McLennon-Wier. "And we need to work together to ensure that each and every person has access to treatment."

Other takeaways are ensuring clinicians are aware of their expectations, noting they're not trained to work with every single client.

It's taken two years to get these courses up and running, and McLennon-Wier said she is eager to see how these will shape up.

The first course begins on May 29 and anyone interested can register online at www.cidny.org/ce.

There's also a hope psychologists will learn about confronting their stigmas toward disabilities.

McLennon-Wier said she feels this begins by looking through the lens of ableism. She said people should consider how they implement universal access for disabled patients.

"Does your biases prevent you from utilizing the knowledge of treatment that you have?" said McLennon-Wier. "Does it work with what's needed by that person who has a disability because first is the treatment practice, but also you have to understand the implications of disabilities."

Other considerations should be given to issues like the segregation disability creates. She said she thinks certain determinants of health like race and gender also impact a person's mental health.

Future classes could deal with different psychological treatments with an infusion of multicultural disability competence.

The 2024 Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium Public Conference kicks off Saturday, where industry experts and researchers will share the latest scientific developments and ongoing advances to fight Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

David Coon, director of the Center for Innovation in Healthy and Resilient Aging at Arizona State University, will lead the conference.

Coon said experts continue to see growing numbers of people developing dementia in the Grand Canyon State, which also means increased demand for care from family and friends.

"The reality is we're still facing this," he said, "and we're facing it also with a growing number of people living alone with cognitive decline, and that is very important for us to recognize as well."

It's a growing public health crisis in Arizona, according to the Alzheimer's Association. An estimated 152,000 people 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's disease in the state.

Coon said increasing awareness about the disease is critical to not only diminish stigma but also plan for the future.

Saturday's event is free and will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Memorial Union on ASU's Tempe campus. Coon said a panel of experts will share information about treatment options, but also the resources and support systems available across the state.

He added that it is critical for people not to wait until a crisis strikes, and that the sooner patients know their cognitive-health status, the better they can have a voice in their own preferences for care.

"How you get assistance, who's engaged, and I think that is really important for you to be, in part, in the driver's seat," he said, "and similarly, for somebody that's going to help you along that way to have those conservations."

Coon called Saturday's event a "family affair," and encouraged anyone impacted by dementia or Alzheimer's to bring family and friends to learn more. Topics will range from new drug treatments to reducing the risk of Alzheimer's with exercise, as well as resources for caregivers.