Bert Nash CEO talks to D.C. staffers about benefits of Mental Health First Aid program

David Johnson, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center CEO, was one of the speakers on a panel today in Washington, D.C., that discussed the value of Mental Health First Aid.

Lynn Jenkins, Republican congresswoman from Kansas, and Ron Barber, Democratic congressman from Arizona, cohosted the briefing for congressional staffers.

Jenkins was the first Republican to add her name as a cosponsor to H.R. 274, the Mental Health First Act, which was introduced Jan. 15 by Rep. Barber.

Bert Nash was one of seven pilot sites in the nation to begin offering the 12-hour training course in Mental Health First Aid in 2008. Johnson and Patricia Roach Smith, Bert Nash chief operating officer, were among the first certified training instructors in the nation in Mental Health First Aid. So far, more than 800 people in Douglas County have been trained in the program, which builds mental health literacy, helping people identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness.

For more information about the class, visit www.bertnash.org, and click on Mental Health First Aid.