Blumenthal: Newly Released Veterans Suicide Data is Continuing Call to Action

Senator Richard Blumenthal (above) is the Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  His office issued the following this week:



Thursday, July 7, 2016

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today released the following statement in response to an analysis of veteran suicide rates released today by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA):

“This heartbreaking data—20 veteran suicides every day—mocks our promise to keep faith with our nation's heroes. ‎The data has been updated, but VA action must be as well. VA must more effectively use the new tools provided by recent statues to do the outreach, research and treatment that can help cut this number to zero. The Clay Hunt SAV Act and the Female Veterans Suicide Prevention Act are positive steps, but much more is necessary. These new numbers should be a continuing call to action.”

As ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Blumenthal is a dedicated advocate in the Senate to preventing veterans suicide. He successfully led the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Bill, which was signed into law last year, with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to improve mental health care and suicide prevention resources for veterans. He also joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to introduce the Female Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, which was signed into law last month, to ensure VA provides the mental health and suicide prevention programs that meet the gender-specific needs of women veterans.

The final report will be publicly released later this month. Key findings of the analysis will include:

• 65% of all Veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older.
• Veterans accounted for 18% of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults. This is a decrease from the 22% that was estimated in 2010.
• Since 2001, U.S. adult civilian suicides increased 23%, while Veteran suicides increased 32% in the same time period.  After controlling for age and gender, this makes the risk of suicide 21% greater for Veterans.
• Since 2001, the rate of suicide among US Veterans who use VA services increased by 8.8%, while the rate of suicide among Veterans who do not use VA services increased by 38.6%.

• In the same time period, the rate of suicide among male Veterans who use VA services increased 11%, while the rate of suicide increased 35% among male Veterans who do not use VA services.
• In the same time period, the rate of suicide among female Veterans who use VA services increased 4.6%, while the rate of suicide increased 98% among female Veterans who do not use VA services.

VA has implemented comprehensive, broad ranging suicide prevention initiatives, including a toll-free Veterans Crisis Line, placement of Suicide Prevention Coordinators at all VA Medical Centers and large outpatient facilities, and improvements in case management and tracking.  Immediate help is available at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net or by calling the Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 (press 1) or texting 838255.

The VA also offers the Coaching Into Care Program to assist family members and friends help a veteran seek care. Coaching Into Care provides a ‘coaching’ service for family and friends of veterans who see that a veteran in their life needs help. Coaching involves helping the caller figure out how to motivate the veteran to seek services. The service is free and provided by licensed clinical social workers and psychologists. Since the inception of the service in January 2010 through November 2014, Coaching Into Care has logged 18,088 total initial and follow-up care.

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U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin’s Bipartisan VA Reforms Pass the House of Representatives, Move to the Senate

Senator Tammy Baldwin's office issued this press release Friday:

For Immediate Release

Friday, July 8, 2016

Contact: press@baldwin.senate.gov

   (202) 224 - 6225

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin’s Bipartisan VA Reforms Pass the House of Representatives, Move to the Senate

Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act continues to move forward after being approved by House and Senate Conference Committee this week

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin released the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the House and Senate Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Conference Committee legislation, which included bipartisan VA reforms Senator Baldwin authored in the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act (S.1641):

“I’m proud to have worked with the Simcakoski family to introduce these bipartisan VA reforms, and I am pleased that the House passed them today and that the Senate will now vote on them next week,” said Senator Baldwin. “This legislation advances critical provisions that would strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs’ opioid prescribing guidelines and put in place stronger oversight and accountability for the quality of care we are providing our veterans. My goal is to enact these meaningful reforms to prevent Jason’s tragedy from happening to other veterans and their families. This week, we continued to move closer to achieving this goal of safer and more effective pain management services for our nation’s veterans.”

Senator Baldwin’s Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act, crafted in close consultation with medical professionals, veterans service organizations, and the Simcakoski family, focuses on strengthening the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opioid prescribing guidelines and improving pain management services by putting the following reforms in place:

·       Requiring stronger opioid prescribing guidelines and education for VA providers including stricter standards against prescribing dangerous combinations of opioids with other drugs and for prescribing opioids to patients struggling with mental health issues;

·       Increasing coordination and communication throughout the VA with medical facilities, providers, patients and their families surrounding pain management, alternative treatments for chronic pain, and appropriate opioid therapy; and

·       Holding the VA system accountable for appropriate care and quality standards through consistent internal audits as well as GAO reviews and reports to Congress.

In addition to improving opioid therapy and pain management, the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act strengthens the VA’s patient advocacy program by ensuring advocates are independent and truly work for veterans, expands access to complementary and integrative health and wellness, and enhances VA hiring practices to help prevent bad doctors from treating veterans.

Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan legislation has also gained support from: Disabled American Veterans Wisconsin, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), The American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Veterans for Common Sense, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Association of the United States Navy (AUSN), Military Health Project, National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), American Veterans (AMVETS), Military Order of the Purple Heart, American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the Wisconsin Medical Society, Trust for America's Health (TFAH), Harm Reduction Coalition, and the National Safety Council.

The conference legislation also includes Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan bill with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) to make naloxone rescue kits more affordable and accessible to our nation’s veterans by eliminating veteran copayments for naloxone.

An online version of this release is available here.

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Isakson Responds to VA’s Updated Veterans Suicide Data

Senator Johnny Isakson (above) is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  His office issued the following this week:

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.

Cassidy Initiative to Help Veterans Gain EMT Licenses is Moving Through Congress

In 2006, Democrats in the House led on pushing for veterans to receive various certificates for the work they'd done.  First responders was the most often field noted that a certificate would be helpful in terms of allowing them to get civilians jobs.  After 2009, it was largely just US House Reps John Hall and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin raising the issue -- both left Congress in January 2011.  This week, Republican US Senator Bill Cassidy raised the issue in the Senate.  His office notes:



For Immediate Release
Contact: John Cummins, Jillian Rogers
July 8, 2016
202-224-5824


Cassidy Initiative to Help Veterans Gain EMT Licenses is Moving Through Congress

Included in Cara Conference Report

WASHINGTON – US Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) applauded the inclusion of his plan to make it easier for veterans with military emergency medical technician (EMT) training to pursue careers as EMTs following their military service in the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA) Conference Report. The CARA Conference Report passed the US House of Representatives today and will be voted on by the US Senate next week. Following the Senate’s vote it will be sent to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

Introduced in February, 2015, the Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act will help states streamline their certification requirements for veterans with military emergency medical technician (EMT) training who are looking to pursue a career as an EMT following their military service. It will provide demonstration grants to states that work to simplify the EMT certification process for veterans and will allow veterans to avoid duplicating their medical training.

Dr. Cassidy released the following statement:

“Veterans trained as emergency medical technicians in the service should not have to repeat the training that they've already had. It is better for them and for their community if their expertise is used as quickly as possible. This is about jobs, easing transition to civilian life and providing emergency services to fellow Americans.”

A companion bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives by Representatives Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Louis Capps (D-CA).

Dr. Cassidy is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.






[Dr. Cassidy and Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) with veteran EMTs from the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT)]


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Highlights

This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends, Ann of Ann's Mega Dub, Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.

 "Only #some lives matter?" and "GUARDIAN poster boy Tony Blair" -- most requested posts in the community.

"That hideous Jill Abramson" -- Marcia notes the creep.


"There is no going back," "Hillary Lost Me too," "That awful Democratic Party platform," "Old man Takei," "More truth telling from Jill Stein," "Jill Stein speaks the truth," "oh, noam chomsky, when will you grow up," "John Stauber calls it" -- political posts in the community.


"A look at the year in music so far" -- Kat covers music.


"WSWS weighs in on Dallas" -- Trina shares WSWS.

 "Mourn for the Baghdad dead and wounded" -- Stan notes Iraq.

"How do you read Comey's statement?" -- Elaine calls it.

"Anyone else would be going to prison," "Another excellent point from Jill Stein," "FBI reveals the real Hillary," "j.r. ewing had more ethics than hillary clinton," "FBI finds Hillary Clinton is a big fat liar," "Hillary's a crook who needs to drop out of the race," "Loretta Lynch should move towards prosecution" and "You can't trust Hillary" -- Hillary the criminal.

"Among the realities Tony Blair can't out run or out gum," "Jeremy Corbyn's a real leader," "oh tony shut up already you're a war criminal," "Far too many were fakes," and "What does the report from the Iraq Inquiry mean?" -- Iraq Inquiry coverage.


"The new American nightmare" -- Mike calls it.


"THIS JUST IN! ANOTHER STAINED BLUE DRESS!!!!!" and "Big Dawg's Little Dawgie" and

"THIS JUST IN! BILL AND LORETTA SPELLS NO INDICTMENT FOR CRANKY!" and "Bill put it to Loretta" -- Bill and Loretta sitting in a tree . . . 

Truest statement of the week

Bernie Sanders is rapidly making himself into Mr. Irrelevant, a footnote of campaign history like Jesse Jackson and Howard Dean before him, the great Progressive Hope of 2016.  He pretends he is the revolutionary his followers want him to be, while he twists and turns his way to Philly for the coronation of Queen Hillary, where he will kiss her ring.  He and Noam Chomsky and Gloria Steinem and Tom Hayden can then get on a bus called Furthur Down the Rathole and tour until November, berating and guilt-tripping independents and lefties to vote for Hillary and against Hitler, aka Trump.

But that is not the candidate bus tour we need, nor one you could pay me enough to see.  What would tremendously benefit the current scene of political rot in America is if the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, and the Green candidate Jill Stein, announced a two week coast-to-coast tour of debates versus each other.  Both desperately need to elevate their poll numbers and break through the corporate media’s censorship of any candidates but Trump and Clinton.  The networks ignore them, except to run stories of how these so-called third parties are ruining it for everyone by trying to intrude on our democracy and the massive system of corruption that so rewards the paid media and the industry of professional political hacks.

-- John Stauber, "The Debate We Need: Gary Johnson vs Jill Stein" (COUNTERPUNCH).

Truest statement of the week II

Muddying the waters a bit on if she will simply accept these recommendations. After she suggested she will be taking a step back from the investigation and just accepting this, the Justice Department spokeswoman clarified her remarks. She told Yahoo! News that, "the Attorney General will be the ultimate decider.'
So how can you maintain you're just accepting the recommendations and also there is the suggestion that she is the ultimate decider? These seem to be two very different things. 


-- Brianna Keilar asking a basic question on CNN.

A note to our readers

Hey --


Clearly, we'll never get it together to post on a Sunday again.
 




First, we thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:





The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.


And what did we come up with?


I (Jim) and adding to this because of e-mail complaints.

• Truest statement of the week

The one and only John Stauber racks up another truest. 

• Truest statement of the week II

Brianna Keilar gets a truest.

• Editorial: Independence for whom?

The Islamic State does not require Iraq to have state of the art technology.  So why is the White House arming the sectarian government the way it is?

• TV: Summer flush

Ava and C.I. take on summer scripted shows.

• Film Classics of the 20th Century

We continue the ongoing series.

• Hillary Bros, the most sexist of all

Why is Hillary Bros were never the focus that the so-called Bernie Bros were?

• Who killed the romantic comedy?

This could have been an epic.  Betty, Ava and C.I. brought the issue up back in April and we thought we'd save it for a movie edition.  But we were slow on things this week so we went with it.  With more time, we would have pointed out that John Cusack hurts every romantic film he's the lead in with the exception of SAY ANYTHING -- too old, too flabby.  We would have noted that when a romantic comedy fails -- or is perceived as failing -- the female star is trashed by 'critics' for months while the male gets a pass.

• This edition's playlist

What we listened to while writing.

• Anti-war newspaper is blocked from reporting as Ch...

SOCIALIST WORKER reprint.

• Gary Johnson Tweets

We listen to John Stauber.

• Thousands rally for Jeremy Corbyn as Labour MPs tr...

SOCIALIST WORKER reprint.

• Jill Stein Tweets

Jill Stein's Tweets.

We didn't make the dealine and get this up on Sunday.

I know.

Peace.




-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I