WASHINGTON, June 3, 2013 – The Veterans Affairs Department is improving access for veterans to mental health services, President Barack Obama said today in remarks that opened the National Conference on Mental Health.Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are hosting the conference at the White House as part of the administration’s effort to increase understanding of and awareness about mental health and reduce the associated stigma.
Obama delivered opening remarks, and Biden will deliver closing remarks at the conference later today.
“We’re … doing more to support our troops and our veterans who are suffering from things like traumatic brain injury or PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder,” the president told the audience. “Today, we lose 22 veterans a day to suicide -- 22. We've got to do a better job … of preventing these all-too-often silent tragedies. That’s why we’ve poured an enormous amount of resources into high-quality care and better treatment for our troops.”
In response to a presidential executive order, VA has hired 1,600 mental health providers and more than 300 peer-to-peer veteran specialists, according to a White House statement.
The department also has enhanced the capacity of its crisis line by 50 percent and established 24 pilot projects in nine states where VA is partnering with community mental-health providers to help veterans more quickly access mental health services, the statement said.
Joining the president on stage at the conference were Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, among others. read more>>>
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