#Middlebury #Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs is serious about providing mental health care for veterans, especially in light of the ongoing, unchanging statistics for veteran suicides. A recent press release serves as a reminder that mental health resources and crisis intervention are available 24/7 at any VA health care facility.
In 2018, 1.7 million veterans received mental health services at the VA. That includes 84,000 psychiatric stays, 41,700 residential stays and 21 million outpatient visits. For that year, 48 percent of in-person mental health visits were held on the same day as the veteran’s primary care visit. So far in 2019, 51 percent of in-person visits were held on the same day as the primary care visit.
What happened, one wonders, to the remaining 49 percent? The 24/7 mental health coverage includes other services: a telehealth or video visit, scheduling an appointment, talking on the phone to a nurse or getting a prescription filled. Is that how the others received same-day services?
Still, all it takes, per the VA website, is to walk into any VA medical center, day or night, or into a Vet Center during operating hours and you’ll get help. If you’re in crisis or know a veteran who is, call the Veterans Crisis Line at 800-273-8255 and press 1. Or you can send a text to 838255. Or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net.
If you’re concerned about someone else, check Defense Suicide Prevention Office (www.dspo.mil) for symptoms you should watch for. Scroll down to the Prevention (service members and veterans) and Intervention (warning signs) categories.
If you just need advice and want to talk to a veteran who’s been where you are, the Military One Source Be There peer program will hook you up with a peer coach, if you’re freshly out of the service (up to one year). Call them at 800-342-9647.
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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