| Veterans
News Flash 
VA
Brings Mental Health Programs to Primary Care
Settings
Nicholson:
VA Leading the Way in Increasing Access
 WASHINGTON --
Addressing a special mental health forum with
the top clinicians and researchers from the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA), Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Jim Nicholson announced plans to begin
locating some of the Department’s mental
health programs closer to places where primary
care is provided.
“Given the 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.
Nicholson
described VA as “a
long-standing leader in mental health,” with
$3 billion devoted this year to mental health
services. The Department has the nation’s
largest mental health program and is internationally
recognized for research and treatment for post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).
“The wounds of war are
not always the result of explosions and rocket
fire,” he added. “They can sometimes
be unseen and cloaked in silence. If
left untreated, they can be just as lethal.”
“We let veterans know
that mental health issues and other military-related
readjustment problems are not their fault --
that we can help them -- and that they can get
better,” he added.
Acknowledging
that VA officials expect to see increasing
numbers of newly returned combat veterans with
PTSD and other mental health issues, Nicholson
said mental health care is currently provided
at each of VA’s 153
medical centers and 882 outpatient clinics.
Nicholson
also announced plans to begin a series of regional
conferences about providing mental health care
to veterans with “our
partners at the state, local and community levels.”
Recent
expansion of the Department’s
mental health services include:
- Greater
availability of “telemental
health” programs, which treated about
20,000 patients last year;
- Integrating mental
health services into geriatric programs;
- Adding
psychologists and social workers to the staffs
of VA’s
polytrauma centers;
- Increasing the number of
Vet Centers from 209 to 232, and adding 100
new combat veterans to run outreach programs
to their former comrades.
“As the newest generation
of combat veterans returns home, we want to ensure
that we are providing them the very best in mental
health care and treatment possible. They
deserve nothing less,” Nicholson said.
SOURCE:
US Department of Veterans Affair
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