AUGUSTA, Maine — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs system in Maine plans to hire six clinicians as part of a national push to boost the number of mental health professionals treating veterans.
The jobs are expected to be added at VA facilities in Lewiston, Augusta and Portland. Funding for the positions is on its way to Maine, according to Ryan Lilly, associate medical center director for the VA Maine Healthcare System.
The local hirings are part of the national VA’s plan to add up to 1,900 mental health clinicians and support staff to meet rising demand for services. Officials hope to hire most of the mental health workers within six months, according to a press release from the VA.
The rising suicide rate among American troops is one reason the VA is focusing on mental health services, Lilly said.
After leveling off in 2010 and 2011, suicides are surging among active-duty troops, averaging nearly one a day this year.
Nationwide, the VA employs more than 20,000 mental health staff, including nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. In Maine, 99 mental health workers assist veterans through the VA.
The Maine system serves just under 40,000 veterans, Lilly said.
Each additional mental health care provider potentially could reach hundreds more veterans battling mental illness, the VA said in the release.
“Mental health services must be closely aligned with veterans’ needs and fully integrated with health care facility operations,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel. “Improving access to mental health services will help support the current and future veterans who depend on VA for these vital services.”
Anyone interested in the new positions can visit www.va.careers.va.gov.
Last year, VA provided mental health services to 1.3 million veterans. Since 2007, VA has seen a 35 percent increase in the number of veterans receiving mental health services.
Veterans can visit VA’s website at www.va.gov to find the nearest VA facility or Vet Center. Immediate help is available at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net or by calling the crisis line at 800-273-8255 (push 1) or texting 838255.
Good job Maine VA!
I wish it was enough. In the first 154 days of the year there were 155 suicides. There needs to be a way to overcome the troops thought that mental health issues will affect their military careers negatively in an effort to get them the care they need. Many times the only person they think understands is their battle buddy and if they leave the military or are sent home they lose that buddy. Sad really…this whole group of broken men & women…
A good start…that could have started nine years ago…that won’t meet the need sufficiently…won’t be available north of Augusta…and will become part of a system of care that is not integrated with community resources and will not adequately stem the rate of deaths (one is too many) nor properly increase the quality of life of those who gave great service to our country. Our government continues to minimize the amount of trauma sustained and the potentially life long effects created by war. We have a long way to go, folks. As long as organizations like “Give an Hour” are needed (I belong to a nation wide group of clinicians and health care providers who DONATE their time to active and discharged military and their families…then our government has failed.
too bad we’re not a bit more focused on prevention…
It is too bad, not making war would be the best prevention.
Excellent news!..but a little too late. We have veterans that have been suffering for years and decades. I know several veterans, including a parent, lost to suicide, but they do not disclose their mental health condition to VA staff, or if they do, not the seriousness of it. It is kept secret and treated in other ways. A good start, but have a long way to go..and not just for military personnel..to anyone and everyone suffering with mental conditions. We need to consider mental illness on same playing field as a physical illness.
A 6% increase in the number of mental health workers is not enough. I read a report that more military personnel are committing suicide than being killed in combat. The generals and politicians need to reduce the causes instead of establishing a band-aid solution. Multiple deployments plus the inability to admit a mistake in attacking Afghanistan need to be addressed as part of correcting the root causes. The mentally ill do not protest or organize and are easy targets for generals and politicians.
War is total insanity. Suicide is the definition of war. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are illegal and the prosecutors are criminals. Look what they have done. This problem will grow in time and the heartache will be endless.
This is good news. Too bad it comes at a time when the state is cutting mental health services to the poor. The suicide rate among non veterans is apparently not an issue.
To late…they need to hire competent health care providers who don’t stress Vets out. They need to hire competent and efficient benefit administrators to expedite claims and benefits so they don’t stress Vets out….if they did this Vets wouldn’t be committing suicide. The VA system is a mess hiring counselors to deal with a mess doesn’t fix the mess.
Isn’t that the truth. VA is total stress. They make small thing as difficult as possible, what a mess.
If the entire population were able to see the real costs of the wars, they would happen less frequently. Still, there is a ban on showing the caskets. Still, we are sending the same people back for multiple deployments. Even now, the wealthiest classes do not serve, ever.
War has been made too easy. It no longer requires congress and it no longer waits for public sentiment. Easy war is great if you are a defense contractor, it is really bad for everyone else.
Our war mongering leaders call themselves patriots and say they support the troops. They do not. They exploit them and they know this. The true cost of war, once fully accounted for would be too high for good people to accept, except in the most dire situations. This is why we are shielded from knowing the costs. And so the blood shed continues….even after their service has ended.