Veterans group calls for multi-agency investigation after three vets killed themselves at VA facilities in five-day span.
of the VA, Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services to immediately launch "a joint, coordinated investigation into the veteran and service member suicide epidemic, to include a macro evaluation of mental health treatment programs and personnel assigned to operate them."
In five days this month alone, three veterans took their lives at VA facilities, including a veteran who died by suicide in a crowded Austin, Texas VA clinic waiting room last week. Between October 2017 and November 2018, there were 19 suicides that occurred on VA campuses -- seven of which were in parking lots -- according to AMVETS.
AMVETS Executive Director Joseph Chenelly wrote in a letter last week that, "the fact that veteran suicides in VA parking lots, on VA campuses, and on military bases are becoming increasingly commonplace offers cold comfort to any claims of progress."Chenelly said that suicides at VA facilities "appear to be protests of last resort where health care systems, treatment programs, and the underlying cultures of the responsible federal agencies have failed them.
A spokesperson for the VA said that, due to privacy concerns, they would not discuss the specifics of the recent cases. "Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones affected by these deaths," VA spokesperson Curtis Cashour said. "Any time an unexpected death occurs at a VA facility, the department conducts a comprehensive review of the case to see if changes in policies and procedures are warranted. All VA facilities provide same-day urgent primary and mental health care serves to Veterans who need them.
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