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Success of Johnson County Civil Mental Health Court in its First Year
I’ve been looking for other ways that Iowa addresses mental illness and its impact on homelessness and other adverse outcomes since my last post on the issue. It turns out that, despite Iowa ranking 51st out of all U.S. states for the low number of psychiatric beds according to the Treatment Advocacy Center statistics (in…
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It Takes a Village to Tackle Homelessness: What’s Iowa Doing?
After I read Dr. Dawson’s post today “More on homelessness and violence as a public health problem,” it got me thinking about what the situation on homelessness of people with mental illness and substance use disorder is here in Iowa. First, I looked at the 2024 Iowa Homelessness Needs Assessment, which is a thorough report…
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Extreme Heat Warning for I-80 Corridor
There’s an extreme heat warning from the National Weather Service for much of the I-80 corridor today and tomorrow. Heat indices of 95-110+ are expected. Cooling Centers in Iowa City, IA Cooling Centers in Coralville, IA Consider donating to the Iowa City Shelter House Beat the Heat drive!
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Shout Out to Dr. George Dawson for Post “The Autocratic Approach to Homelessness”
I want to give a shout out to Dr. George Dawson for his post today “The Autocratic Approach to Homelessness” in reference to President Trump’s most recent executive order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.” As a retired psychiatrist, I look back and remember seeing the problem of the homeless mentally ill a lot.…
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A Small Update to a Pseudo-Rap YouTube Video and a Big Tribute to Dr. Robert G. Robinson
I just noticed something about one of my YouTube videos that I made sort of as a combination gag and educational piece about pseudobulbar affect. It needed a couple of updates—one of which is minor and which I should have noticed 10 years ago when I made it. It’s a pseudo-rap performance (badly done, I…
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Extreme Heat Watch This Week in Eastern Iowa!
There’s an extreme heat watch starting tomorrow through Thursday in eastern Iowa. Heat indices of 95 to 105+ are expected. There is a list available of cooling centers published by KCRG although that was published on June 20, 2025, so it is not current. Heat safety tips are at this link.
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How Will I Get to Heaven? Rounding at Iowa Podcast: End of life Doulas
I listened to the Rounding@Iowa podcast “End-of-Life Doulas” twice because I’m at that difficult age when I think about my personal death. I don’t think about it at great length, mind you, but when I think about it, I feel afraid. Early mornings tend to be the time I wonder how much time now until…?…
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Thoughts on Long Covid
I read Dr. Ron Pies, MD’s essay today, “What Long COVID Can Teach Psychiatry—and Its Critics.” As usual, he made thought- provoking points about the disease concept in psychiatry. What I also found interesting was the connection he made with Long Covid, a debilitating illness. He cited someone else I know who was involved with…
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Sena + Prune Juice = Space Trip?
Sena has been drinking her prune juice and I presume she’s regular. Besides that, she could be an excellent astronaut. There was a small study by scientists that seemed to show that mice who ate prunes could be protected from space radiation. I think you’d have to eat a lot of prunes for that. Being…
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Svengoolie Movie Next Saturday “Invaders from Mars” Triggers Memories!
The Svengoolie TV show movie next Saturday will be “Invaders from Mars” released in 1953 and it triggered some memories. One of them is when I was a little kid. I think I saw parts of it on TV while I was supposed to be down for a nap. I recall seeing these burly guys…
