Website review: VA Hid Suicide Risk, Internal E-Mai...
ConsiderThis discovered this in Mental Health
•3 reviews since Apr 22, 2008
mental-health, veterans
•cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/21/cbsnews_invest...
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ConsiderThis discovered 4 months ago- 18 suicides and suicide attempts a day among Iraq war veterans. Think about that. 12,000 suicides and attempts in one year. Are there that many suicide bombers among the suicide bombers? People who preach support for our troops, the American troops... I bet they are ignoring these numbers and refusing to accept this truth. From the page: ""Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our metical facilities." Katz's e-mail was written shortly after the VA provided CBS News data showing there were only 790 attempted suicides in all 2007 - a fraction of Katz's estimate. "This 12,000 attempted suicides per year shows clearly, without a doubt, that there is an epidemic of suicide among veterans," said Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense. And it appears that Katz went out of his way to conceal these numbers. First, he titled his e-mail: "Not for the CBS News Interview Request." He opened it with "Shh!" - as in keep it quiet - before ending with "Is this something we should (carefully) address before someone stumbles on it?" "
- sarahlee rated 4 months ago
- From the page: "The Department of Veterans Affairs came under fire again Monday, this time in California federal court where it's facing a national lawsuit by veterans rights groups accusing the agency of not doing enough to stem a looming mental health crisis among veterans. As part of the lawsuit, internal e-mails raise questions as to whether top officials deliberately deceived the American public about the number of veterans attempting and committing suicide. "
Think Progress has the e-mail exchange showing that the VA hoped to keep the statistics out of CBS's hands - unbelievably, the email from Ira Kantz reads:
""Shh!
"Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see at our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" - From the page: "The Department of Veterans Affairs came under fire again Monday, this time in California federal court where it's facing a national lawsuit by veterans rights groups accusing the agency of not doing enough to stem a looming mental health crisis among veterans. As part of the lawsuit, internal e-mails raise questions as to whether top officials deliberately deceived the American public about the number of veterans attempting and committing suicide. "
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