Featured News
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Veterans with PTSD twice as likely to die from suicide, accidents, study says
June 24, 2019
Tauren Dyson | UPI
June 24 (UPI) -- For many veterans, life in combat is hard, but for those who survive it, the mental stress of war can be deadly, new research shows.
Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder have twice the risk of dying from accidental injury, viral hepatitis and suicide compared to the general population, according to a study published Monday in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. They also have a higher risk of developing chronic liver disease and diabetes.
- Topics
- Active Duty
- Mental Health
- Post-9/11
- Suicide
- VA
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Suicide, accidents, and hepatitis: The leading causes of death for Veterans in their first year of PTSD treatment
June 24, 2019
Elsevier | Medical Xpress
According to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, United States Veterans seeking treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk of death compared with the general population. Veterans with PTSD are twice as likely to die from suicide, accidental injury, and viral hepatitis than the general population. Veterans with PTSD are also more likely to die from diabetes and chronic liver disease than the general population.
- Topics
- Mental Health
- Suicide
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Veterans suicide prevention efforts will include more discussions on firearm safety
June 19, 2019
Leo Shane III | Military Times
Federal suicide prevention efforts in coming months will include increased focus on veterans’ access to firearms, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie said during a Capitol Hill appearance Wednesday.
“It is key,” he said during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on his department’s recent efforts to address the problem. “Seventy percent of veterans who (die by suicide) do so with firearms. We’re dealing with a population that has a special familiarity with firearms. So we’re working on ways to build time and space … between thoughts and impulsive acts.”
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Veterans suicide prevention efforts will include more discussions on firearm safety
June 19, 2019
Leo Shane III | Military Times
Federal suicide prevention efforts in coming months will include increased focus on veterans’ access to firearms, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie said during a Capitol Hill appearance Wednesday.
“It is key,” he said during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on his department’s recent efforts to address the problem. “Seventy percent of veterans who (die by suicide) do so with firearms. We’re dealing with a population that has a special familiarity with firearms. So we’re working on ways to build time and space … between thoughts and impulsive acts.”
- Topics
- Legislation
- Mental Health
- Suicide
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Legion Act Passed By U.S. Senate
June 19, 2019
Ed Berti | The Mint Hill Times
The Senate did some work recently unanimously passing a bipartisan bill named the Legion Act on June 11th. The bill will expand membership eligibility for the American Legion so that all veterans can become eligible to participate in membership. The bill is also known as the National Service Act, sponsored and introduced by Senator Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona. The bill was introduced on February 14 in the Senate.
- Topics
- Legislation
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New VA Policy Aims to Stop Veterans from Hiding Guns in Wheelchairs
June 13, 2019
Richard Sisk | Military.com
The Department of Veterans Affairs now has a policy requiring veterans in wheelchairs to switch to ones provided by the facility during emergency room visits to make sure they're not hiding guns, a top VA official testified Tuesday.
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Coaxing Veterans Into Treatment to Prevent Suicides
June 11, 2019
Christine Vestal | The PEW Charitable Trusts
CHARLESTON, S.C. — To Army veteran Everett Brockington, 52, there’s no mystery about why so many veterans die by suicide: “They’ve seen things and done things that they can’t handle. And they’ve lost too many of their close friends.”
Most of the veterans Brockington knows rely on one another for support instead of seeking mental health services.
“We talk to each other about our problems all the time,” Brockington said. But he admitted, “It would be better if we had someone to talk to who knew what they were doing.”
- Topics
- Mental Health
- Suicide
- VA
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The VA will now let you go to civilian urgent care centers
June 10, 2019
Jim Absher | Task & Purpose
Got a sore throat or a sprained ankle and don't want to go to a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital? Got sick at 8:00 on a Friday night and don't want to wait until Monday to see a VA doctor? A new VA program may be for you.
As of June 6, 2019, the VA offers medical care to eligible veterans at selected civilian urgent care facilities nationwide.
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No more smoking at VA hospitals
June 10, 2019
Natalie Gross | Military Times
The Department of Veterans Affairs is outlawing smoking, vaping and other forms of tobacco use at its health care facilities across the country in an effort to better treat and protect patients, the agency announced Monday.
“Although VA has historically permitted smoking in designated areas, there is growing evidence that smoking and exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke creates significant medical risks, and risks to safety and direct patient care that are inconsistent with medical requirements and limitations,” the department said in a news release.
- Topics
- Benefits
- Physical Well-Being
- VA
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For Soldiers, Risk of Suicide Linked With Firearm Ownership
June 7, 2019
Patrick Tucker | Defense One
More U.S. Army soldiers die by suicide than in combat. There are a number reasons for that, but a study published on Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows a strong relationship between keeping a personal firearm and suicide among soldiers.
- Topics
- Suicide
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