Dallas VA closes psych unit after 4th suicide of year

[kskiska]

Source: AP

DALLAS (AP) - The fourth suicide this year among mentally ill patients treated at the Dallas VA Medical Center has led the hospital to close its psychiatric ward to new patients, and investigators from the national Veterans Affairs office are expected to arrive next week to assess safety.

Joseph Dalpiaz, director of the VA North Texas Health Care System, ordered the shutdown after a man hanged himself April 4. The hospital stopped admitting patients to its 51-bed psychiatric unit the next day; 10 previously admitted veterans are still being treated there.

Dalpiaz "decided he wanted to ... give us some time to assess the environment of care and make sure things were as safe as possible in our patient unit," said Dr. Catherine Orsak, head of mental health for the VA's North Texas health system.

(snip)

In January, two men who met in the hospital's psychiatric ward committed suicide days after being released. In February, a veteran in the ward hanged himself on a frame attached to his wheelchair.

Read more: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D902GFD83&show_article=1&catnum=1

[Lone_Star_Dem]

1. That's the ticket. Close the psychiatric ward to new patients

That'll stop the veterans from killing themselves. Sure it will.

[hisownpetard]

2. There are no words...

[saigon68]

3. "Bring Em On" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

Yes what utter Bullshit

This ass clown (the Chimp) should burn in hell for this.

He sends people off to fight in Wars and this is how his Lackeys take care of those who served

[saigon68]

4. Oh and It doesn't matter what FUCKING WAR they served in.

[blue sky at night]

5. the way we treat veterans.....

with mental problems is shameful. There is help for almost all of the problems these folks suffer from, but we are unwilling to provide it. Why close the clinic, they must provide some care? Perhaps this story should be used as a great recruiting tool for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines.

Here is an interesting book if this subject appeals to you:

[Supersedeas]

12. meanwhile Charles Gibson is playing trivial pursuit

[cbayer]

6. It's a tragedy with many components.

Part of the problem is that psychiatry has been marginalized in the current system to such an extent that the availability of care across the spectrum is at an all time low.

Did you know that in the Medicare system Psychiatry is reimbursed at 50% and other physician based medical specialties are reimbursed at 80%? Did you know that in the Medicare system there is a cap on psychiatric benefits and not on other specialties?

Emergency rooms are bombarded with psychiatric patients. The shortage of psychiatric beds sometimes means that patients will sit in ER's for days before receiving treatment.

That the VA system is collapsing is a horrible thing. The only potential silver lining is that it will shine a light on the entire system in terms of how we treat people with psychiatric disorders.

[realisticphish]

8. hear, hear

there's a stigma attached to mental disorders even today; you would think we would be past the days of the "looney bin," but I guess not :(

[bmbmd]

7. When I was a third-year medical student

at that very same Dallas VA, the night call room for students and residents on the Medicine service was directly underneath the Psych ward. A drain pipe ran up the corner of the room, and allowed some sound to be transmitted down below. My first call night, which would have been in October of 1979, I could hear concert-quality piano music filtering down from above. Mostly Chopin, if I remember correctly. Every night, about the same time, the music would start. My senior resident told me that the pianist was a Juliard student who was drafted, sent to Viet Nam, and horribly traumatized by the events that took place. He was no longer willing or able to speak, but still took solace in the piano. The music was still playing when I left four months later.

Henderson's Honey-Fried Chicken, though-that made my rotations at the VA worthwhile.

[saigon68]

9. Right to the point of the matter

The brain is a very delicate instrument

[Barrett808]

10. The suicide epidemic among Bush war veterans:

Newspaper Carries Word of Another Mysterious U.S. Soldier Death in Iraq
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=352775&mesg_id=352775

[Supersedeas]

11. after Walter Reed, the Media is really keeping up with these Veteran issues, aren't they!?!