Taylorville Memorial Hospital Foundation sponsored another Mental Health First Aid course held on May 28 at TMH.   The TMH Foundation proudly covered the fee for five local participants who attended the all-day course to learn how to identify and respond to adults showing signs of mental illness and substance abuse.

“It’s a strategic focus for the TMH Foundation to support community health outreach initiatives such as Mental Health First Aid training,” said Foundation executive director Raedena Ryan.  “Healthcare is so much more than what happens within the walls of the hospital.  We are committed to helping our community and through the generosity of our donors, we are able to support programs such as this.”

Mental Health First Aid teaches signs of addictions and mental illnesses, a five-step action plan to assess a situation and help, the impact of mental health and substance use disorders, and local resources and where to turn for help.

 “Most people know how to recognize and appropriately react to medical emergencies, but there is little knowledge in the general public about what to do in a mental health crisis,” said Melissa Thomas, TMH foundation and community health specialist.  "This course provides people in our community with the resources they need so they know how to respond."