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National Deaf Academy & Psychiatric Solutions Help Jason Foundation

MOUNT DORA, Fla. – (May 25, 2010) – National Deaf Academy, a Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI) facility, and The Jason Foundation, Inc. (JFI), have joined together to promote awareness of youth suicide within the Deaf and hard of hearing community throughout the United States.

“The Jason Foundation is very proud to have National Deaf Academy as an affiliate office serving primarily the Deaf and hard of hearing community,” said Clark Flatt, JFI President and CEO. “This project of making some of our materials more user-friendly for this community is only our first step in helping address youth suicide within this group. This marks groundbreaking efforts in providing the same information, tools and resources to the Deaf and hard of hearing community that JFI has provided for the general public.”

Joey Trapani, Business Development Director at NDA, had the opportunity to provide American Sign Language interpretation for the DVD versions of JFI programs “Choices” and “Parent Seminars.” Trapani and NDA are working with JFI to streamline all of JFI’s materials to accommodate the Deaf audience. Trapani hopes this is only the beginning of a long-term partnership.

“I was honored to be a part of such a great effort to promote awareness of this growing epidemic of youth suicide,” said Trapani. “National Deaf Academy looks forward to continuing to work with The Jason Foundation in the future as we help to bring important and accessible materials on the subject of youth suicide to the Deaf and hard of hearing community.”

JFI Divisional Director Joy Drake helped coordinate the effort between the two organizations. Other contributors to the project included Michele Ray, JFI Vice President; Deanne Ray, JFI Assistant Vice President; and Donna Finley, JFI Education Specialist.

NDA is one of more than 80 JFI Affiliate Offices nationwide. PSI is the National Clinical Affiliate of The Jason Foundation.

About National Deaf Academy
National Deaf Academy is a licensed, 132-bed residential treatment facility specializing in the treatment of deaf and hard of hearing children, adolescents and adults with a wide range of psychiatric and behavioral issues. NDA also has a specialized program dedicated to autistic individuals with communication disorders. NDA is licensed by the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration and fully accredited by The Joint Commission. For more information, please visit www.ndamediapsi.com

About Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI)
Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. offers an extensive continuum of behavioral health programs to critically ill children, adolescents and adults and is the largest operator of owned or leased freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities with more than 11,000 beds in 32 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. PSI also manages freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities for government agencies and psychiatric inpatient units within medical/surgical hospitals owned by others. For more information, please visit www.psychiatricsolutionsmedia.com

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