Three veterans in five days die by suicide at VA facilities

Authored by stripes.com and submitted by anarchytravel

Three veterans in five days die by suicide at VA facilities

Thousands of American flags filled a grassy expanse on the National Mall on Wednesday morning, each of them representing a veteran or a servicemember who died by suicide in 2018.

WASHINGTON — Three suicides occurred during a five-day period on Department of Veterans Affairs properties, prompting reaction this week from Capitol Hill.

Two veterans died by suicide in Georgia, one April 5 at a parking garage at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin and the other April 6 outside the main entrance to the Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

On Tuesday, a veteran shot himself in the waiting room at a VA clinic in Austin, Texas, according to KWCX-TV.

“Those deaths did not go by me without noticing them, nor has it gone by me that we have a job to do,” Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said Wednesday during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing.

Though it wasn’t the intended subject of the hearing, multiple senators asked VA officials on Wednesday about the recent suicides.

Richard Stone, executive in charge of the Veterans Health Administration, said there have been more than 260 suicide attempts on VA property, 240 of which were interrupted and prevented. He didn’t specify a time period for the attempts.

According to a Washington Post report, 19 suicides occurred on VA property between October 2017 and November 2018.

“Every one of these is a gut-wrenching experience for our 24,000 mental health providers and all of us that work for VA,” Stone said.

In response to reports of the three suicides, Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said he would schedule a hearing on the issue later this month.

“Every new instance of veteran suicide showcases a barrier to access, but with three incidents on VA property in just five days, and six this year alone, it’s critical we do more to stop this epidemic,” Takano said in a statement. “I have called for a full committee hearing… to hear from VA about the recent tragedies and spark a larger discussion about what actions we can take together as a nation.”

According to the latest VA data, 20 veterans die by suicide every day. Of those deaths, 14 are not receiving VA health care.

Suicide among veterans continues to be higher than the rest of the population, and younger veterans are particularly at risk. VA data released in September showed the rate of suicide among veterans ages 18 to 34 had significantly increased.

The VA hasn’t identified the veterans who died by suicide in Georgia, nor described the circumstances of the deaths. In Austin, a still-unidentified veteran shot himself in front of hundreds of people in the waiting room, KWTX reported. Weapons are prohibited in VA clinics, but the Austin facility didn’t have metal detectors.

Stone told senators Wednesday that veteran suicide was a societal problem that needed a nationwide approach. He noted an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in March creating a Cabinet-level task force that he promised would “mobilize every level of American society” to address veteran suicide. VA Secretary Robert Wilkie was selected to lead it.

“I wish it was as simple as me saying I could do more patrols in a parking lot that would stop this epidemic,” Stone said. “Where we as a community and society have failed that veteran is a very complex answer.”

pukachi on April 13rd, 2019 at 21:39 UTC »

My father killed himself 7 months ago after being denied help from the VA multiple times. His mental state was declining and my family urged him to seek help from the VA. All I know about the situation is from my mother: it took him months to finally see anyone, and when he did he was prescribed anti-anxiety or anti depressants or something. He was on Prozac his entire life up until seeing the VA, and he himself stated, and everyone in the family knew it helped him a lot, but he was taken off it. He had to seek therapy elsewhere, which he did at the local church. During this time my mother mentioned he seemed to be getting better or at least seemed hopeful. A few weeks later something happens with his insurance and he’s being sent to another doctor at a different VA clinic (? This is just from what my mother tells me) who takes him off the previously changed meds immediately and prescribes him something else. Within weeks he took his own life. I don’t know any of the specifics but I truly wish he sought help elsewhere.

BrautanGud on April 13rd, 2019 at 17:56 UTC »

WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released findings from its most recent analysis of Veteran suicide data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

This report yields several important insights: 

Suicide rates increased for both Veterans and non-Veterans, underscoring the fact that suicide is a national public health concern that affects people everywhere.

The average number of Veterans who died by suicide each day remained unchanged at 20.

The suicide rate increased faster among Veterans who had not recently used Veterans Health Administration health care than among those who had.

https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=4074

...

This was from 2018.

judgerhinehold on April 13rd, 2019 at 17:35 UTC »

I work for a nonprofit that houses homeless veterans in tiny houses. I cannot understate how much of a nightmare it is to navigate the VA. Story time: A young man we were working with was severely mentally ill and had attempted suicide so we took him to the ER (not the VA, it was not the closest option.) When he was discharged we took him to a longer term treatment center for Veterans where he could get real inpatient care and truly focus on the underlying emotions and thoughts surrounding his desire to die. Well, the VA declined to reimburse the cost for treatment because his suicide attempt wasn’t seen at the VA emergency room, “The incident didn’t originate at the VA”. He wasn’t there an hour, when we arrived was sitting in front of the building with all of his bags, everything he owned in the world, rejected again, dying to get help.

These guys are told they must “originate” crisis level treatment at the VA over and over, that is exactly what they are doing.