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U.S.
Senator Ken Salazar
Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees
2300 15th
Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO
80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C.
20510
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Sen. Salazar Urges VA to End Mental Health Care Hiring Delays
WASHINGTON, D.C.
– Today, in a letter
to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary James Peake, United
States Senator Ken Salazar urged the VA to increase the number of qualified
mental health specialists at its facilities to improve access to quality
care for military veterans, including those in rural areas.
In his letter, Senator Salazar
criticized the VA’s delay in implementing provisions from the Veterans
Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 that
allow the Department to include licensed professional mental health
counselors (LPCs) and marriage and family therapists (MFTs) among its
authorized mental health providers. Senator Salazar was a strong supporter
of the legislation. In addition, Senator Salazar pointed to a shortage
of mental health professionals in rural communities, which has resulted
in significantly reduced access to mental health care for veterans.
For a PDF version of Senator
Salazar’s letter to Secretary Peake, please click
here.
The full text of the letter
to Secretary Peake is also included below:
December
11, 2008 |
James
Peake, MD
Secretary
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
Dear Secretary Peake:
I am writing to ask for your personal and immediate attention
to a problem that is preventing our nation’s veterans from obtaining
the mental health care they need and deserve. Currently, the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) has failed to implement provisions in
the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology
Act of 2006 (P.L.109-461) that allow the VA to include Licensed
Professional Mental Health Counselors (LPCs) and Marriage and
Family Therapists (MFTs) among its authorized mental health providers.
This law expressly recognizes LPCs and MFTs as health care providers
within the VA and outlines the professional requirements for such
an appointment. Before P.L.109-461, mental health counselors and
marriage and family therapists could not be considered or hired
as equals to their professional counterparts, clinical social
workers, nor could they apply for supervisory positions – strong
deterrents to a 150,000-strong pool of qualified mental health
specialists. Sadly, after nearly two years, VA has yet to begin
hiring the mental health counselors and family therapists our
nation’s veterans desperately need.
As you are well-aware, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) are among the signature
injuries of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Statistics show that 300,000 returned service members from Iraq
and Afghanistan currently suffer from PTSD or depression and 320,000
suffer from TBI. It is clear that our nation’s veterans are suffering
from a crisis in mental health care, and the VA’s delay in implementing
P.L.109-461 needs to be addressed immediately.
I am aware that the VA is in the process of completing
an occupational study to assess the appropriate use of therapists
and counselors within its health care system, and I applaud the
VA for working with several counseling and family therapy organizations
and professional groups to complete this work. But progress has
proven much too slow for the crisis we now face.
I would like to particularly highlight the needs of rural
veterans, who are currently underserved by mental health professionals.
Although Colorado now retains 3,716 LPCs and almost 590 MFTs,
primarily in the Denver and Colorado Springs metro areas, the
Health Resources and Services Administration has identified vast
stretches of the southwest and eastern plains still suffering
mental health professional shortages. Across the nation, approximately
80 percent of rural counties suffer a shortage of mental health
professionals, and 50 percent have no practicing psychologist
or social worker. Despite improvements in the counseling services
offered by community-based Vet Centers and the upcoming Community
Outreach Vehicle project, the VA has struggled to provide adequate
mental health staff in rural communities.
I urge the VA to complete its occupational study immediately
and to continue its work with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management
(OPM) and relevant LPC/MFT professional groups to establish independent
general schedule (GS) occupational classifications for mental
health counselors and marriage and family therapists. I recognize
that this effort may need to create different qualifications for
LPCs and MFTs to properly distinguish and respect the expertise
of each profession. However, this is no excuse for further delay.
The
prevalence of PTSD, TBI, and other mental health-related illnesses
treated by VA will only increase as veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan
transfer from TRICARE to VA health care services. As mental health
problems manifest over time, the numbers will continue to rise.
After two long years, we cannot tolerate and our veterans cannot
afford further delays to the full implementation of P.L.109-461.
I appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
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Sincerely,
Ken
Salazar
U.S. Senator |
cc:
Michael W. Hager
Director
Office of Personnel Management
1900 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20415 |
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