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VA SECRETARY NICHOLSON IN DENIAL -- SAYS
VETERANS'
MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS BEING MET -- Nicholson:
“We’re dealing with it with great excellence...
We are staffed for it."
I could write thousands of words about
this...but I won't.
The arrogance here is beyond my
comprehension.
If you want to know about the state of
mental health care at the VA...just click any of the following
links...read the headline...then, you'll see why Secretary Nicholson is
in denial.
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20OCT%2006/newsflash10-20-2006-8.htm
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20OCT%2006/newsflash10-19-2006-11.htm
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20OCT%2006/newsflash10-15-2006-9.htm
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20OCT%2006/newsflash10-14-2006-1.htm
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20SEP%2006/newsflash09-29-2006-1.htm
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20SEP%2006/newsflash09-23-2006-9.htm
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20MAY%2006/newsflash05-06-2006-3.htm
Today's story here...
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/APC0101/61019122/1979
Story below:
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VA secretary says veterans’ mental health needs
being met
By Jim Collar
Post-Crescent staff writer
GRAND CHUTE — The U.S. secretary for veterans affairs Thursday praised
the federal government’s response to veterans’ mental health needs
despite a new report suggesting a shortfall in the department’s
counseling resources.
Secretary R. James Nicholson toured the John H. Bradley VA Outpatient
Clinic Thursday morning prior to meeting with State Rep. John Gard,
R-Peshtigo, who is running for the 8th Congressional District seat
against Appleton Democrat Steve Kagen.
Nicholson’s visit coincided with the Thursday release of a report from
Democrats on the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs that found the
nation’s VA counseling centers haven’t kept pace with demands for care.
While acknowledging that mental health treatment posed a significant
challenge, Nicholson said the VA is adequately funded and staffed to
meet needs.
“We’re dealing with it with great excellence,” he said.
The report suggests that the Department of Veterans Affairs is falling
behind.
The report focused on 60 of the nation’s 207 VA Readjustment Counseling
Centers.
It found that from October 2005 through June 2006, the number of
veterans seeking service for post-traumatic stress disorder at those
centers jumped from 4,467 to 9,103 veterans.
A survey of those centers found that 40 percent directed veterans in
need of individual therapy into group sessions instead.
The report states that 27 percent of centers either limited or plan to
limit access to marriage or family therapy.
The report followed a 2005 study released by the Government Accounting
Office urging improvement in VA services for those with post-traumatic
stress disorder.
Mental health needs of those returning from combat have been well
documented.
Nicholson said about 25 percent of soldiers who served in Afghanistan
and Iraq have needed some level of mental health treatment upon their
return.
In response to demands, the department has established programs and
placed specialists in post-traumatic stress disorder at each of the VA’s
major medical centers.
The department has also made it a priority to diagnose the condition as
early as possible, he said.
Nicholson said the department is dedicated to making sure returning
veterans have all the care they need.
Mental health care is only one aspect of a department that serves a
million patients each week, he said. Among those patients, soldiers
returning from combat with care needs are a “very high priority. We are
staffed for it,” he said.
Jim Collar can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 216, or at
jcollar@postcrescent.com.
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Larry Scott
