PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – This Week in South Florida’s second and third segments on Sunday focused on the rise in mental health emergencies in Florida.
Two leading the effort to find solutions in the Florida legislature are Representatives Hillary Cassel, a Democrat who represents District 101, and Dr. Joel Rudman, a Republican who represents District 3.
“We are part of an informal consortium of about 12 freshmen,” Rudman said about an effort to focus on bills to improve access to mental healthcare.
Cassel, of Dania Beach, said she gets treatment for bipolar disorder, a mental illness that without treatment causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration.
Rudman, who has a family practice at the Holley Navarre Medical Clinic in the northwest Florida Panhandle, said there are issues with access to care, reimbursement issues, and workforce shortage.
MORE ON TWISF: Watch the Aug. 20, 2023 episode