Tag: United States Department of Veterans Affairs

A 2015 measure that required officials to provide annual reviews of mental health care and suicide prevention programs has found that veterans often receive good mental health care at many Department of Veterans Affairs centers — but that has not decreased suicide rates. Since the department in 2017 began tracking suicides at Veterans Affairs facilities — among the most high-profile of veteran suicides — there have been more than 260 suicide attempts, 240 of which have been interrupted, department officials say. Although Veterans Affairs officials blamed miscommunication at the time, Keita Franklin, the department’s new executive director of suicide prevention, said that the program had been delayed to come up with a more targeted marketing campaign, called #BeThere. In comparison, breast cancer will receive about $709 million in research funding and $243 million is expected to be spent this year researching prostate cancer. “However, we have not had comparable research into suicide.” Guns are used in the majority of veteran suicides, in large part because gun ownership is high for that group. Last year, about 80 percent of suicides among veterans in Montana were by firearms, said Claire R. Oakley, the director of health promotion at RiverStone Health, a community provider attached to the Mayor’s Challenge in Billings, Mont., which has had among the highest rates of suicide in the nation. “By reducing access to firearms you see a drop right away,” said Jane Pearson, chairwoman of the Suicide Research Consortium at the National Institute of Mental Health. The Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, for instance, works through 10 regional coalitions to provide veterans with mental health services as well as things like entrepreneurship training. and community providers; providers outside the system have varied forms of insurance coverage. “The issue is the challenge in our health care system with people jumping from one system to another.” The Mayor’s and Governor’s Challenges — which team governments with community health care providers to better reach and service veterans — show promise in connecting veterans to needed services inside and outside the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Two of the three companies that competed for a federal contract to deliver job placement services for Canada's veterans were disqualified for "not having sufficient experience" — even though one of them was doing the work already for Veterans Affairs, CBC News has learned. For over a year, officials at Agilec have refused repeated interview requests and directed all inquiries from CBC News to the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was rebranded weeks after the 2015 federal election and held a series of contracts with the Ontario government. Provincial public accounts records show the company received at least $14.3 million in two separate contracts from two different departments in its last year operating as Northern Lights Canada. Wellstead said the company has not had "any issues providing services to veterans and their spouses." The two companies that lost the federal bid were the non-profit charity Canada Company and Maxsys Staffing and Consulting, which is headquartered in Montreal. Sources with knowledge of the file, who were granted anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the procurement process, said the federal government didn't examine the costing proposals from either Canada Company or Maxsys before rejecting their bids. The federal government appeared to be solidly behind the charity and invested $1.1 million in the group's online MetPathfinder system one year before the contract went to Agilec. At first, Public Services and Procurement Canada would not comment on the tender evaluations, but after repeated questions, a department spokesman confirmed the bids were rejected and suggested there were good reasons. So this is an important contract.

Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • President Trump declared that he was “not happy” about the bipartisan compromise on border security, but said he did not think the government would shut down on Friday. The deal includes just $1.375 billion for new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, much less than in the proposal he rejected in December. Here are five takeaways. • A number of women are running for president, but Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is the only one making feminism the central theme of her candidacy. • A government audit found that because of the recent shutdown, fewer taxpayer calls to the Internal Revenue Service were answered, wait times grew longer and the processing of 87,000 amended tax returns was delayed. The issue was especially acute since it followed Mr. Trump’s tax overhaul, which left many people with questions about filing their returns. • Tens of thousands of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan were exposed to toxic substances from open-air trash fires, which some believe caused long-term health problems. • The acting defense secretary, Patrick M. Shanahan, arrived in Baghdad for an unannounced visit, amid questions about whether some of the American troops slated for withdrawal from Syria might be sent to Iraq. He said that if the two countries were close to a deal, he could let the issue “slide for a little while” and not impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods.

President Donald Trump has appointed his former doctor to be his assistant and chief medical adviser. Trump calls for Senator Jon Tester to resign over Ronny Jackson claims Read more The navy doctor withdrew following allegations of professional misconduct, which the Pentagon continues to investigate. After Trump nominated Jackson for the position last April, Montana Democrat Jon Tester released a document summarizing more than 20 interviews conducted by staffers with people who served with Jackson. The document included allegations of drunkenness, faulty prescribing practices and creating a hostile work environment. It included claims that Jackson “got drunk and wrecked a government vehicle” after a party and described “at least one occasion [when] Dr Jackson could not be reached when needed because he was passed out drunk in his hotel room”. It also alleged that he so freely handed out prescription drugs he was nicknamed “candyman” and had his own “private stocks of controlled substances”. Upon withdrawing his nomination, Jackson denied the allegations made against him. “While I will forever be grateful for the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me by giving me this opportunity, I am regretfully withdrawing my nomination to be secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs.” Jackson led the medical team for Trump’s physical exam last year and said the president was in excellent health and had “incredibly good genes”. A White House official not authorized to publicly discuss personnel issues said Trump considers Jackson a trustworthy medical adviser and physician. Trump reportedly previously told aides and outside advisers that he is fond of Jackson personally.