Vets' Mental Health Needs Still Not Met Due To Staffing Set Up, Study Says

Despite a recent hiring push, the Department of Veterans Affairs doesn't have enough full-time psychiatrists, and staff resources aren’t being used efficiently, an Inspector General report finds. In Alaska, frustrated veterans testified before state lawmakers, saying that recent VA reforms have not improved care in the state.

The Department of Veterans Affairs lacks enough full-time psychiatrists to meet demand for services and those on staff aren’t being used efficiently, despite a multiyear, multibillion-dollar effort, says a report from the department’s internal watchdog. The VA hasn’t been “fully effective” in hiring psychiatrists or in using those it has, the VA’s Office of Inspector General reported Tuesday, adding that the department has focused on meeting overall hiring goals rather than on hiring personnel to fill gaps at specific facilities. (Kesling, 8/25)

A 2014 law to reform the Veterans Affairs health care system has only made things worse in Alaska, according to veterans testifying Monday at a congressional listening session in Fairbanks. A group of about two dozen veterans at the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly chambers told Dr. David Shulkin, the third-in-command at the VA, that the Veterans Choice Act hasn't delivered the improved care that it promised. (8/25)

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