US to Expand Veterans Mental Health Services
US to Expand Veterans Mental Health Services
Wars increasing demand for care
(BOSTON GLOBE, 17 JUL 07) ... Hope Yen
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson pledged
yesterday to add mental health services at more than 100 VA medical centers
to fight resistance to seeking help for depression and other illnesses.
The VA is being pressed by a growing number of mental health problems
such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury among
veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Nicholson said at a national
forum of VA mental health specialists.
He said the department will work harder to meet the challenge.
To fight stigma against seeking help for anxiety and depression, the VA
this year is devoting $37.7 million of its nearly $3 billion mental health
budget toward placing psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers
within primary care clinics.
Such a move will help the VA to begin testing all veterans from Iraq and
Afghanistan for mild to moderate brain injury, an often unseen problem that
can emerge months after finishing service.
It would also allow for brief treatment for those who may not require
specialty care, Nicholson said.
"Given the possible reluctance of some veterans to talk about emotional
problems, increasing our mental health presence in primary care settings
will give veterans a familiar venue in which to receive care without
actually going to an identified mental health clinic," he said.
Other measures now underway:
Adding 23 new VA-run Vet Centers, which are small, storefront walk-in
clinics with a staff of about five people, to a total of 232 centers
nationwide. The centers provide combat stress counseling, marriage therapy,
job assistance, and medical referrals. Recent congressional surveys found
them to be understaffed with long wait times due to increased demand for
services.
Hiring more suicide-prevention coordinators for VA medical centers and
keeping emergency services for mental health open around the clock, as well
as starting a full-time suicide prevention hotline. The VA inspector general
earlier this year found that veterans were at increased risk of suicide
because of spotty services in clinics nationwide.
Hosting state mental health conferences to facilitate collaboration of
veterans services on a state, local, and community level. Some state
officials have complained that the VA needs to do a better job of sharing
information about wounded soldiers returning home, so that states can help.
Following disclosures earlier this year of shoddy outpatient treatment at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, both the VA and the Pentagon have
acknowledged missteps in planning for the surge of injured veterans
returning home.
That has prompted several reviews by congressional panels and
presidential commissions on ways to improve care.
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Connecting
Veterans and their Families to Compassionate Resources.
