Report: Sandy left mental health issues in its wake

ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- Maureen Persi keeps a photo album of her journey through Superstorm Sandy.

It starts with the last photo her husband took of her on the beach before they evacuated and continues through the flood damage and eventual rebuilding of their Ortley Beach home.

But even a year after their house was completed, Persi said it's still hard emotionally to open that album. Remembering the disarray she faced when she returned home — ocean water moved her living room into where her dining room was, the dining room into the kitchen and the freezer in her garage onto her family's cars — is still traumatic.

Persi and her husband didn't seek counseling to deal with the emotions, but instead leaned on family for support and were buoyed by moments when strangers unexpectedly came to their aid.

"We probably should have, but we didn't have any time. We were so anxious to get back home," she said.

While Persi and her husband were able to find strength through other outlets, many Sandy survivors are reaching out to professionals for help to cope with the stress the storm has caused.

What had long been predicted in the immediate aftermath of Sandy is finally appearing in the data research: More individuals in the 10-county area affected by Sandy in New Jersey are seeking help for behavioral health concerns such as alcohol and substance abuse, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In Monmouth and Ocean counties, the counties hardest hit by Sandy, the numbers were even higher.

Healthcare Quality Strategies Inc. reviewed Medicare claims data in the year before and after Sandy and found:

• Depression screenings were double in the year after Sandy for the 10 counties impacted by the storm.

• Alcohol and substance abuse were up 8 percent.

• Post-traumatic stress disorder was up nearly 8 percent.

• Anxiety disorders were up 5.8 percent.

Those who reviewed the data suspect that the numbers might still be an understatement of the mental and behavioral health needs left in the wake of Sandy.

The analysis was based on the coding doctors input after treating Medicare patients to determine what services were provided, said Suzanne Dalton, a quality improvement specialist and project manager for HQSI.

The increases found in the HQSI analysis shows what's happening for the older population of Sandy victims, since it is based on data from Medicare, the federal health insurance program that largely serves Americans 65 and older.

But anecdotal evidence from behavioral and mental health providers indicate the same increases are happening across all ages, Dalton said.

"We're hearing (from providers) that, 'Before the storm we might have had 20 people in our self-help groups, and after the storm, we have 40 people in these groups,'" she said.

In some cases, it may have been people who were already on the borderline, but Sandy pushed them into a recognized depression, Dalton said. For others, the increased attention focused on mental health in the wake of Sandy may have made it more comfortable for some to seek care.

Michele Green-Ferrante, program director at the Mental Health Association of Ocean County, said her agency has seen the increased need among all age groups, including seniors, who rarely sought care there previously.

"It gave them the feeling that it's OK to go for help now," she said. "I went through Sandy and I lost everything, so it's OK to need help."

The intent of the HQSI data analysis was not just to point out the increased need, but to help counties strengthen their services for residents now as well as prepare for future disasters, Dalton said.

New Jersey started increasing funding to provide services for mental and behavioral health issues resulting from Sandy before numbers like these started showing the concerns exists.

New Jersey Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd said at a recent roundtable on post-Sandy stress that the psychological effects can last years after the storm. If left untreated, those concerns can turn into problems that cause physical ailments, cause families to break apart and potentially increase instances of domestic violence and child abuse.

"It reinforces we need to continue on our path of long-term recovery," she said.