June is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces June as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month.

According to HHS, it is believed that Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects 1 in every 29 Americans. Those at highest risk for PTSD include our country’s service men and women, abused children and survivors of rape, domestic violence and natural disasters.  HHS is hoping to bring attention to the disorder as well as “recognize the millions of Americans who experience this challenging and debilitating condition.”

PTSD is an anxiety disorder often caused after an individual sees or experiences a threatening or harmful even.  HHS has stated, “PTSD may result in sleep problems, irritability, anger, recurrent dreams about the trauma, intense reactions to reminders of the trauma, disturbances in relationships, and isolation. Some people may recover a few months after the event, but for others it may take years.  For some, PTSD may begin long after the events occur.”

HHS hopes the awareness of June’s PTSD focus will be to inform individuals that PTSD can be treated. Effective treatments are available, such as exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and approved medications.  As a reminder, there is help out there for individuals suffering from PTSD. Those individuals working in the Healthcare Industry should be mindful of the signs of PTSD and direct those who are suffering to services where they can receive the proper care.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is partnering with the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense (DOD), to develop new research in hopes of revealing the underlying causes of PTSD and related conditions. It is believed that with better tools those who are at highest risk of developing the disorder will have access to new and better treatments and preventive interventions.

The following sites can provide additional information, as well as services available to those with PTSD:

http://store.samhsa.gov/mhlocator (Mental Health Service Locator)

http://www.stopbullying.gov (Bullying and Traumatic Experiences)

(http://www.nctsn.org/resources/public-awareness/national-ptsd-awareness-day (National Child Traumatic Stress Network)

Time Off/Vacation Request Form

Have you ever had a disagreement with a staff member about Vacation Days or Sick Leave? You are not alone. The key to ending disagreements about Paid Time Off (PTO) is to ensure your office has a clear PTO policy. This policy should be clearly written so all employees can understand it.

While most offices have a PTO policy, they often struggle to "keep track" of employees' vacation days, or shifts missed due to illness. This lack of documentation can lead to arguments, and additional PTO days for employees already at their limit. Compliance PhD is pleased to offer a new tool that will help to track employees' Paid Time Off.

This new form will allow for employees to request time off, as well as allow for management to better track days or shifts missed, the reason behind it, and number of PTO days remaining.

Compliance PhD members can log in to the Forms Section of the site and download the Time Off/Vacation Request Form under the new PRACTICE MANAGEMENT category. This new PRACTICE MANAGEMENT category is filled with additional tools to free up time for Office Managers.

Compliance PhD is pleased to offer this new Time Off/Vacation Request Form for FREE. To download this new tool, click HERE. If you have questions about PRACTICE MANAGEMENT tools, or would like to learn more about Compliance PhD and the services they provide to their members, visit http://www.compliancephd.com/ or call us at 720-475-0143.