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VA adds 1,000 mental health professionals to staff
By KEVIN FREKING | Associated Press – 29 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Veterans Affairs Department said Monday it has added more than 1,000 mental health professionals and 200 support staff over the past eight months to meet the needs of returning veterans, but still has more to do to meet the requirements of an executive order issued by President Barack Obama.
The VA needs to add about 550 more doctors, nurses and counselors by June 30 to comply with the executive order.
The VA announced new hiring goals in the spring, just days before an inspector general's report found the department had greatly overstated how quickly it provided mental health care to veterans seeking help. Obama expanded on that goal in August as both presidential candidates were reaching out to veterans in the heat of an election campaign. He also directed the VA to increase the capacity of its telephone crisis line by 50 percent and to ensure that a mental health professional contact within 24 hours any veteran who identifies themselves as in crisis.
...
The VA also said it was still working on hiring and training 800 veterans to work as "peer specialists" on the VA's mental health teams. Some veterans are more comfortable reaching out to peers who have shared their experiences in serving during wartime. The peer staff is expected to be completely hired by Dec. 31.
...
http://news.yahoo.com/va-adds-1-000-mental-health-professionals-staff-201220509--politics.html
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Veterans Affairs Department said Monday it has added more than 1,000 mental health professionals and 200 support staff over the past eight months to meet the needs of returning veterans, but still has more to do to meet the requirements of an executive order issued by President Barack Obama.
The VA needs to add about 550 more doctors, nurses and counselors by June 30 to comply with the executive order.
The VA announced new hiring goals in the spring, just days before an inspector general's report found the department had greatly overstated how quickly it provided mental health care to veterans seeking help. Obama expanded on that goal in August as both presidential candidates were reaching out to veterans in the heat of an election campaign. He also directed the VA to increase the capacity of its telephone crisis line by 50 percent and to ensure that a mental health professional contact within 24 hours any veteran who identifies themselves as in crisis.
...
The VA also said it was still working on hiring and training 800 veterans to work as "peer specialists" on the VA's mental health teams. Some veterans are more comfortable reaching out to peers who have shared their experiences in serving during wartime. The peer staff is expected to be completely hired by Dec. 31.
...
http://news.yahoo.com/va-adds-1-000-mental-health-professionals-staff-201220509--politics.html
4 replies
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Our veterans are terribly underserved. It's a travesty.
Glad to see some movement in the right direction, though.
The Obama Administration is the most pro-vet in decades. His first budget gave the VA its largest funding increase in 30 years. The VA is still struggling to meet increased demands, and President Obama's mental health Executive Order is a BFD.
Thank Allah we have a Muslin President undermining our troops! 
the President and thinks their followers are too dumb to know what they're doing there. They may be right 
