VA Continues to Expand Mental Health Services for Veterans
WASHINGTON — Newly-returning veterans from the War on Terror will have greater access to readjustment counseling, Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson said today in announcing that VA will soon open a second “Vet Center” in Phoenix. Secretary Nicholson also announced that VA is moving the employment status of 50 additional Global War on Terror Outreach Specialists nationwide from temporary to permanent.
“VA remains committed to treating the ‘whole veteran,’ and this new Vet Center will enhance Phoenix-area veterans’ access to important mental health services,” said Nicholson. “The permanent hiring of 50 additional Global War on Terror Outreach Specialists – who themselves are veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan – is another important step in bolstering access and ensuring returning veterans get the treatment they need to overcome their common reactions to the uncommon experiences of combat.”
VA’s Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) Vet Center program is a special program designed to help veterans exposed to the unique stress of serving in combat. The program features professional readjustment counseling for war trauma and other social readjustment problems, family readjustment counseling, and community-based services, including outreach, education, extensive case-management, and referral.
VA has 207 community-based Vet Centers across the country. The centers are easily accessible and are staffed by small multi-disciplinary teams. In most cases combat theater veterans,, including Global War on Terror Outreach Specialists, serve as counselors.
The search for a location for the new Phoenix Vet Center, which will open later this year or in early-2007, is now underway. Once opened, the Vet Center will be staffed by a team leader, two counselors, and an office manager. The new location will help serve the more 315,000 veterans in the Phoenix area. VA already operates a Vet Center at 77 East Weldon, Suite 100, in Phoenix.
“Vet Centers are a vital part of VA’s mission of serving the men and women who have borne the battle,” said Dr. Jonathan Perlin, VA Under Secretary for Health. “The additional center will ensure that we provide veterans in the Phoenix area with the counseling services they need when they need them.”
The 50 newly-permanent Global War on Terrorism Outreach Specialists join 50 others who were hired by VA as full-time employees earlier this year. The specialists, one of whom is stationed in Phoenix, augment other VA staff at the Vet Centers. Nationwide, they are now averaging more than 13,000 outreach contacts each month with returning Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans and their families.
Last year, the Vet Centers had 1,046,628 visits by 132,853 veterans and their families. This represents an increase of 9,477 veterans and 14,863 veteran visits from the previous year.
Last year, VA spent more than $1.5 billion to serve the state’s 550,000 veterans. More than 115,000 Arizona veterans received health care from VA last year, while 120,000 obtained disability compensation or VA pensions. VA runs major hospitals in Phoenix, Prescott and Tucson, plus 15 outpatient clinics, three nursing homes and three Vet Centers.
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