Report: Walk-ins double at VA clinics but staff increases only ten percent

Told that he would be put on a waiting list after telling an intake counselor he was suicidal at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Jonathan Schulze wrapped a household extension cord around his neck, tied it to a beam in the basement, and hanged himself 4 days later.

The number of returning Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans visiting Department of Veterans Affairs walk-in clinics has more than doubled since 2004, while the clinics’ staff has increased by less than 10 percent, agency records show.

The clinics, known as Vet Centers, are meant to make it easier for combat veterans to receive help. Last year, 21,681 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans visited the centers, up from 8,965 in 2004. The number of clinic staff members rose from 992 to 1,063 during the same period, according to the VA records.

A VA survey of clinic team leaders that the agency provided to USA Today on Thursday shows that 114 of the 209 Vet Centers need at least one extra psychologist or therapist to help with the influx of veterans. The VA is only slated to add 61 new staff members.

Read the rest at USA Today

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