[acb-hsp] Mental Health Issues Among Soldiers Still Increasing

[peter altschul]

More than Half of Recent War Vets Treated by VA Are Struggling 
With Mental Health Problems
  Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica May 11, 2011
  More than half of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated in 
Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals since 2002 have been 
diagnosed, at least preliminarily, with mental health problems, 
according to statistics obtained by the advocacy group Veterans 
for Common Sense.
  The data, which is released quarterly, also shows that the raw 
number of returning soldiers with psychological problems is 
rising.  Nearly 18,000 new patients were treated for mental 
health issues at VA facilities in the last three months of last 
year-the most recent time period for which data is 
available-upping the total to more than 330,000.
  The latest numbers confirm a trend that has intensified over 
the last several years.  Paul Sullivan, the executive director of 
Veterans for Common Sense, said that when the organization first 
began to collect the data in late 2004, only 20 percent of Iraq 
and Afghanistan veterans in VA hospitals had been diagnosed with 
mental problems.
  The increase should come as no surprise given that a recent 
military survey, obtained by ProPublica and other media outlets, 
shows that U.S.  troops in Afghanistan are currently reporting 
lower morale and greater emotional strain than at any other time 
in the last five years.  That report notes that mental health 
staffing has doubled in warzones in order to ensure treatment is 
available immediately for soldiers who suffer psychological 
trauma.  Sullivan applauded the increase in staff abroad, but 
questioned whatbs being done to make sure that troubled troops 
are properly cared for once they come home.
  "We truly support having more doctors in warzones, thatbs 
great," Sullivan said.  "But we also need to make sure we have 
enough doctors here."
  Laurie Tranter, a spokeswoman for the VA, told ProPublica that 
the agency has increased the number of mental health staff in the 
U.S.  by more than 40 percent since 2002 to more than 20,000.  
Tranter suggested that the increase in veterans diagnosed with 
and treated for mental health problems may, in part, reflect more 
proactive screening and better access to services.
  Pressure is mounting on the military and the VA to fix 
long-standing shortfalls in mental health care.  A federal 
appeals court issued a scathing opinion of the VA's system 
yesterday, noting that it takes an average of four years for 
veterans to receive mental health benefits, a beleaguered process 
that demands immediate reform.  Writing for a three-judge panel, 
Judge Stephen Reinhart said, "Although the VA is obligated to 
provide veterans mental health services, many veterans with 
severe depression or post-traumatic stress disorder bPTSAID) are 
forced to wait weeks for mental health referrals...  For those 
who commit suicide in the interim, care does not come soon 
enough."
  As reported by the Associated Press, the ruling by the 9th 
Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a 2008 verdict and sends the 
case, which was filed against the VA by veterans' advocates, back 
to U.S.  District Court for resolution.
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