FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Contact: Amanda Maddox, 202-224-7777
Lauren Gaydos, 202-224-9126
Isakson Responds to VA’s Updated Veterans Suicide Data
Calls on Senate to pass Veterans First Act to address ‘troubling’ epidemic
WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs, today called for more work to be done to improve
mental health services for our nation’s veterans to prevent the alarming
rate of veteran suicide revealed in a new analysis released today.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today released a comprehensive analysis of veteran suicide rates in
the United States based on data from over 55 million veteran records
from 1979 to 2014 from every state in the nation. The new analysis found
that in 2014 an average of 20 veterans a day died from suicide. That is
down slightly from a 2010 analysis that estimated that there were on
average 22 veteran suicides a day in the United States.
“The loss of one veteran to suicide is one too many,” said Isakson, a veteran himself. “That’s why the Senate VA Committee’s first order of business this Congress was to pass the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act last
year to improve mental health care and suicide prevention resources for
American veterans. The VA’s latest data on veteran suicide rates in the
United States shows that some progress has been made, but that we have a
long way to go toward providing better access to mental health
resources for our veterans.”
“My
top priority as chairman is to see to it that we change the paradigm at
the Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver quality services in
unique ways that will benefit veterans,” Isakson continued. “That’s why I introduced the Veterans First Act –
sweeping reform legislation that goes further than ever to improve the
VA’s mental healthcare services for our veterans. I urge my colleagues
in the Senate to pass the Veterans First Actwithout
further delay to address this troubling epidemic and ensure that every
American veteran has timely evaluation and coordination of care to help
reduce the rate of suicide and improve the quality of health care for
all of our nation’s deserving veterans.”
Isakson
has long been focused on improving the quality and timeliness of care
at Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities across the
country. He helped uncover signs of neglect and mismanagement at the
Atlanta VA Medical Center in Atlanta, Ga., during a Senate VA committee field hearing he
held in August 2013 in the wake of three veteran suicides. Isakson has
worked with the VA since 2013 to ensure the appropriate steps were being
taken to improve the mental health care provided in all of its
facilities.
On January 21, 2015, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs unanimously passed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act during
the committee’s first official meeting in the 114th Congress and also
the first meeting with Isakson serving as chairman.
Isakson introduced the Veterans First Act earlier
this year to build upon the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs’ work
throughout this legislative session to drastically improve services for
our nation's veterans. The Veterans First Act includes a number of provisions to address mental health care for veterans, including:
· Creating
a Veterans Expedited Recovery Commission to examine the evidence-based
therapy treatment model at VA and the potential benefits of
incorporating other types of health treatments at VA;
· Ensuring veterans who served in classified missions can access mental health without disclosing classified information;
· Directing
the VA to include in its training and education programs for mental
health professionals, marriage and family therapists and licensed
professional mental health counselors; and
· Cutting
down on the VA’s bureaucracy and expanding the qualification criteria
to make it easier to hire qualified mental health care professionals.
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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress.
Isakson
is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard
from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since
he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to
more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of
the military as well as more than 750,000 veterans.