Suicide prevention is a top priority
Among veterans and the American public at large, suicide is a public health crisis. Losing even one veteran to suicide is unacceptable, which is why suicide prevention is a top priority at VA.
We know that we save lives when we get veterans into treatment. This past year, VA has expanded our suicide prevention efforts providing greater access to our services, and we are continuing to ensure same-day access for urgent mental health needs at every medical center.
We continue to hire more VA mental health professionals and are aggressively utilizing telemental health technologies where services are limited. We are actively exploring more effective treatments and searching for new approaches using innovative, technological strategies. We are strengthening the Veterans Crisis Line, doubling it in size, opening a new hub in Atlanta, and using best-in-class business practices to improve its capacity as a call center and its effectiveness as a lifesaving resource.
Last year, the Crisis Line dispatched emergency responders an average of 30 times daily and made 80,000 referrals to suicide prevention coordinators at our medical centers. We are saving thousands of lives. But we will not rest as long as there are veterans who remain at risk.
Despite these improvements and deploying assets of the country’s largest integrated medical and behavioral health care system, VA cannot fully address this issue alone. Of the 20 veterans who died each day by suicide in 2014, 14 were not connected to VA for care in the past year. So we are enhancing our partnerships with community-based providers to broaden the network of mental health professionals and are researching to find new solutions.
A recent CDC report showed suicide is rising across all demographics and generations of Americans. We believe our partnerships, research and new technologies will benefit all Americans, and we will continue to be seen as the forerunners in suicide prevention efforts. As a nation, we must support each other and direct friends, family members, veterans and colleagues to the right resources where hundreds of caring professionals are standing by to help.