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ST. CLOUD VA SAYS IT'S READY FOR VETERANS WITH
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES -- Facility has reduced
its
number of inpatient beds and shifted mental
health treatment to outpatient settings.
Jonathan Schulze
Background with backlinks here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfFEB07/nf021707-4.htm
Story here...
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/
news/state/minnesota/16723193.htm
Story below:
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St. Cloud VA says it's ready for vets with
mental health issues
Associated Press
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The St. Cloud VA Medical Center has spent the past
few years making sure it's prepared for an influx of troops expected to
return from war with mental health issues.
The U.S. Army said in January that an estimated 17 percent of troops are
expected to come back from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder,
severe anxiety or depression.
To get ready, the St. Cloud VA has reduced its number of inpatient beds
and shifted mental health treatment to outpatient settings. It also
partnered with the Minnesota National Guard and the Department of
Defense on screening programs to identify mental illness.
The VA is also hiring two mental health outreach coordinators for Iraq
and Afghanistan veterans, officials said.
The VA's treatment of mental illness is under scrutiny after the January
suicide of Jonathan Schulze, a former U.S. Marine from New Prague. His
parents have said he told St. Cloud VA staff that he was suicidal. He
was not admitted for treatment, and St. Cloud VA officials have not
commented.
Joan Vincent, spokeswoman for the VA Medical Center in St. Cloud, said
the VA has no waiting list. It has 133 beds for residential treatment
for patients needing mental health care and chemical dependency
services. About 20 people are being scheduled for admission at any one
time, and it usually takes about five days to get in.
Vincent said since the conflicts began, the St. Cloud VA has seen 1,380
veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. About 29 percent of them have
received some sort of mental health care. Eleven veterans received care
in the VA's locked inpatient ward.
An upcoming challenge will be helping the number of women expected to
have mental health issues, said St. Cloud VA Director Barry Bahl. About
25 percent of active duty soldiers are female, the highest percentage in
history. The VA will create programs for them, Bahl said.
The VA is also continuing to emphasize outpatient care. Since 1996,
inpatient psychiatric beds at the St. Cloud VA decreased from 198 to 15.
The VA contacts veterans directly through lists of discharged soldiers,
encouraging them to use their VA health care benefits. Other new efforts
from the Department of Defense and the Minnesota National Guard focus on
helping veterans become part of their communities again.
The Department of Defense screening program provides a health assessment
for soldiers about three to six months after they return. The Minnesota
National Guard's new effort is a pilot program that includes a health
assessment at drill meetings 90 days after demobilization. Later
meetings are also scheduled to reconnect soldiers and families with
services and to address combat stress.
In the Schulze case, the St. Cloud VA's investigation has been
completed, but the results are protected by data privacy law, Vincent
said. The inspector general of the Department of Veteran Affairs will
look further into allegations that he was turned away from VA hospitals
in Minneapolis and St. Cloud before he killed himself.
An investigation by the Office of the Medical Inspector, an independent
agency established by Congress, has been finished. Its findings will be
released to VA senior officials and elected federal officials with
oversight of the VA system, Vincent said.
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Larry Scott --
