The findings of a survey by Tulane’s Newcomb Institute point to an epidemic in Louisianans’ mental health. Colleen Crain reports.
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This week we learned that Louisiana made a huge jump in the national rankings in the area of fourth grade reading, from 46 in 2022 to 16 in 2024. Sean Richardson on how that may have happen…
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U-S Senator Bill Cassidy says he’s struggling with Robert F Kennedy’s nomination for U-S Health Secretary. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Tulane’s Newcomb Institute uncovered some alarming mental health concerns with a recently released 2023 statewide survey. Executive Director, Anita Raj calls it a mental health crisis of epidemic proportions with one in nine Louisiana adults living with severe depression and/or anxiety – many contemplating self-harm.
Cut 4 (11) “…in the past year.”
Raj says in Louisiana, an alarming number of men especially have contemplated suicide – greater than one in ten have thought about suicide in the past year. She says risks of non-intervention are substantial so if you see alarming behaviors, seek help
Cut 5 (11) “…against themselves or others.”
Raj says Louisiana has a shortage of mental health providers, but help is available. If someone is struggling, even if they don’t have a plan to harm themselves, they could still be in a difficult or dire circumstance that needs intervention.
Cut 6 (11) “…they are concerned about.”
9-8-8 can help connect those needing support with resources in their area. The survey is available at newcomb.tulane.edu
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Louisiana made significant progress on the Nation’s Report Card with 4th graders leading the nation in reading improvement. Fourth graders advanced from 42nd to 16th place in reading, while 8th graders moved up 10 spots to 29. Leaders for a Better Louisiana Chief Policy Officer Barry Erwin says a few years ago, public schools decided to go back to the basics when teaching reading and math.
Cut 7 (12) “…negative trends.”
Erwin credited policies focused on the “science of reading” and expanded tutoring. He says there was also more of a focus on early intervention as a key to improving literacy.
Erwin says improvement started in 2021 and because Louisiana students were back in the classroom faster than other states following the pandemic, it played a factor in the improvement of reading.
Cut 9 (12) “…wrong direction.”
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U-S Senator Bill Cassidy admits he’s struggling with the confirmation vote for Robert F Kennedy Jr as Secretary for the U-S Health Department. Kennedy is known as a vaccine skeptic and that bothers Cassidy, who is a physician. The Baton Rouge Republican is concerned Kennedy will never accept evidence that shows vaccines do not cause autism……
Cassidy made the comments after participating in two different confirmation hearings for Kennedy. Cassidy is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on advancing Kennedy’s nomination to the floor.
The senior Senator, who is up for re-election next year, will likely face backlash from fellow Republicans if he doesn’t vote to confirm Kennedy.
But Cassidy says if Kennedy tells the public as the Health Secretary that vaccines are harmful, but a person actually dies from a vaccine-preventable disease, it will come back against the Trump administration
Cassidy says if Kennedy would admit that vaccines do not cause autism, this would be an easy vote and a powerful message for Americans…
During his two days of confirmation hearings, Kennedy said he would follow the science on vaccines and he’ll publicly apologize if he’s wrong about his previous anti-vaccine statements. Kennedy will likely need 51 votes in the U.S. Senate to become the next HHS secretary.
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A longtime high school football coach in northwest Louisiana has been nominated for the Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Award. The New Orleans Saints nominated Calvary Baptist head coach Rodney Guin for the award that’s named after the NFL’s winningest coach. Guin has won 205 games as a head coach and calls it an honor to be recognized…
Guin led Calvary Baptist to a state championship in 2023 and 2020. He also had a lot of success at Haughton High School, where he helped mold current Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Guin says the nomination came out of the blue…
Guin did not win the Don Shula National Coach of the Year Award. That went to Bill Jacklin of Wisconsin. But Guin says the nomination came with two tickets to next week’s Super Bowl and he’s taking his better half…