On March 13, at the 24th Annual Mission Possible Conference in Nacogdoches, Susan Rushing, CEO of Burke, was presented with the Spirit Award by the SFA School of Social Work. The intent of the award is to identify and honor individuals who may not be social workers, yet they embody the spirit of social work […]
Mental Illness Not to Blame for Gun Violence Study Finds
February 6, 2019 GALVESTON, Texas – Released from the UTMB Newsroom Counter to a lot of public opinion, having a mental illness does not necessarily make a person more likely to commit gun violence. According to a new study, a better indicator of gun violence was access to firearms. A study by researchers at The University […]
Burke’s Mental Health Emergency Center Celebrates 10th Anniversary
This week marks the 10th anniversary of Burke’s Mental Health Emergency Center (MHEC), a ground-breaking program that has significantly improved crisis mental health services in east Texas while serving as an award-winning model for other regions throughout the state. Burke’s MHEC was the nation’s first rural freestanding comprehensive psychiatric emergency service and the first to […]
Fifteen new Instructors certified to teach Youth Mental Health First Aid
This summer, Burke hosted a training that added fifteen new instructors from the state of Texas to the Mental Health First Aid team. The new instructors represent organizations throughout the state: from Burke based in Lufkin, Spindletop Center based in Beaumont, Community Healthcore out of Longview, Helen Farabee Center out of Wichita Falls, Education Service […]
CDC reports ‘suicide rising across the US’
Recently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that incidences of suicide are rising across the U.S. Read more in their latest issue in Vital Signs – June 2018. The article discussed why we should be concerned with the latest suicide data, that suicide rates have increased in nearly every state from 1999 through […]
Burke could be valuable resource for East Texas districts’ school safety plans
By Donna McCollum, Journalist, see the original KTRE story here. Lufkin, TX (KTRE) Students’ mental and behavioral health needs are listed as a top priority in Gov. Greg Abbott’s school and firearm safety action plan. East Texas News learned that mental health professionals could be an excellent resource for both services and guidance to school […]