By State Sen. Ben Watson, MD.

This was the Georgia senate’s first full week of deliberations, mainly focusing on the committee process as very little legislation was ready to be brought to the Senate floor for a vote.

In an earlier report, I discussed my major effort this year, in conjunction with the Governor and most of the Senate, is to utilize the excess funds available for mental health concerns.

Mental health has been the most overlooked aspect of health care. This is a difficult topic for many patients to discuss and is also difficult to quantify since success isn’t based on a single outcome, but rather a process. While physical health care issues, such as appendicitis, can be specifically diagnosed and treated, mental health problems have no singular treatment method.

In other news this week, the senate and Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan unveiled Senate Bill 403, a bipartisan plan to promote collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and certified behavioral health specialists through the establishment of a statewide co-responder model. With overwhelming bipartisan support, the “Georgia Behavioral Health and Peace Officer Co-Responder Act” directs Georgia’s 24 Community Service Boards (CSBs) to implement a co-responder model that combines the knowledge of law enforcement and mental health professionals to de-escalate behavioral health emergencies.

The model requires CSBs to provide the behavioral health component of the co-responder program and serve as a resource for law enforcement agencies who choose to opt into a partnership with their regional CSB. While there are currently similar programs operating at the local level, the “Georgia Behavioral Health and Peace Officer Co-Responder Act” seeks to bring equal access to behavioral health crisis intervention services to all communities in Georgia.

As Chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, the responsibility to craft this legislation will fall on our shoulders to oversee implementation of this important legislation. The importance of mental health care accessibility cannot be understated, as the increase in behavioral health emergencies carries a significant weight on law enforcement agencies around the state. This is a large step in identifying the critical need to expand the scope of emergency response efforts and establish the first-ever statewide co-responder model.

I have also introduced Senate Resolution 395, a resolution urging that the members of Senate encourage consumers, healthcare practitioners, policymakers, and regulators communicate the benefits of self-care by recognizing February 2022 as Self-Care Awareness Month. The United States Food and Drug Administration deems over-the-counter medicine safe and effective for the self-care treatment of minor acute and chronic health conditions and symptoms such as pain, the common cold, and allergies, which impacts large segments of the population.

According to an Information Resources Inc. study, every dollar spent on over-the-counter medicines saves more than $7 for the health care system, resulting in more than $146 billion in annual savings.

We also reviewed a Senate Resolution this week proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Georgia to clarify that only citizens of the United States shall have a right to vote in elections. Many believe Georgia needs permanent solutions such as this to strengthen the integrity of future elections. The resolution, S.R. 363, will be debated further in the session.

Thank you for your continued interest in the General Assembly session. As your public servant, feel free to visit me at the Capitol or to reach out to me by phone or email. I am in 325-A Coverdell Legislative Office Building. My office phone number is (404) 656-7880 and my email is ben.watson@senate.ga.gov. I look forward to continuing to serve you.