17 vets a month commit suicide under VA care

[unhappycamper]

17 vets a month commit suicide under VA care
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 23, 2008 20:24:24 EDT

After learning that more than 17 veterans per month commit suicide while under the care of the Veterans Affairs Department, senators accused VA of withholding information about suicide rates and demanded the removal of its mental health chief.

“The culture of the VA has to change,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., after a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday.

To restore credibility, she said VA must take responsibility and dismiss Dr. Ira Katz, deputy chief patient care services officer for mental health.

“He clearly knew information and was holding it from us here in Congress,” Murray said.

Deputy VA Secretary Gordon Mansfield said he shared Murray’s concerns, but stopped short of taking responsibility for them.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_suicides_042308w/

[More_liberal_than_mo]

1. Serious math error!

editied to correct spelling errors.

The article headline linked to in the army times does indeed say 17 Vets per month under VA care, however inside the article it says that there were 1,784 in 2005 under VA care who committed suicide. If you divide 1,784 by 12 months that is 148 per month not 17.

It also says that there was a total of 6,250 vets (including all vets not just those under VA care) that committed suicide in 2005. If you divide by 12 months that's 520 a month or if you divide by 365 days a year that's 17 per day. To make it even worse the Deputy VA Secretary admitted that it's probably much worse than that and these figures are from 2005 and it is probably much worse now.

The Army Times Headline should have read 17 vets a day commit suicide. Alternately it could have accurately said 148 vets a month commit suicide under VA care.:cry:

We are losing more soldiers and marines per month to suicide than to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan!