A Memorial Day, silent and solemn, at Arlington National Cemetery. The VA has been looking at the issue of veteran suicides. (iStock) The number of suicides among younger veterans has increased “substantially,” according to a report released Wednesday by the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA) The latest statistics show that 45 of every 100,000 veterans ages 18-34 committed suicide in 2016 – up from around 40 a year earlier. “These findings underscore the fact that suicide is a national public health issue that affects communities everywhere,” the VA said in a statement obtained by The Wall Street Journal. “Our goal is to prevent suicide among all veterans — even those who do not and may never seek care within VA’s system.” The VA found that there were more than 6,000 veteran suicides each year from 2008 to 2016. Veterans accounted for 14 percent of all suicides in the United States in 2016, yet veterans comprise just … [Read more...] about Suicide rates up among younger veterans, VA says
Hospitalized for suicidal ideation
Her son, nephew and brother died of suicide. She wants more people to talk about it.
Meredith Newman Delaware News Journal Published 2:22 p.m. UTC Jun 15, 2018 When Cyndi McLaughlin heard about the deaths of fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain last week, she thought of her nephew Sean, a tinkerer who loved to fix motorcycles. She thought of her brother Jerry, an outdoorsman who was the quietest of her three siblings. And she thought of her son Jeremy, a teenage boy who loved horror movies. Especially the bad ones. In the span of 17 years, McLaughlin's son, nephew and brother shot themselves. First it was Jeremy in 2001 at age 15 then Jerry in 2013 at age 55. Sean took his life in April at age 27. "All three had different stories in terms of their struggles," McLaughlin said. "In the end, I guess they couldn't see past that really dark time." Last week, when news broke of Spade and Bourdain killing themselves just days apart, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide rates are rising … [Read more...] about Her son, nephew and brother died of suicide. She wants more people to talk about it.
Youth Suicidal Behavior Is on the Rise, Especially Among Girls
By Jeanne Whalen Jeanne Whalen The Wall Street Journal BiographyJeanne Whalen @JeanneWhalen [email protected] Updated May 15, 2018 2:21 p.m. ET 5 COMMENTS A new study finding a rise in suicidal thoughts and attempts among young people adds to the research pointing to a decline in mental health among U.S. children and adolescents. The study showed the proportion of young people treated at 31 U.S. children’s hospitals for suicidal thoughts or attempts more than doubled between 2008 and 2015, from 0.66% of all visits to 1.82% of all visits. Rates were higher during the school year than in the summer, and nearly two-thirds of the visits involved girls, according to results published in the medical journal Pediatrics. The research had limitations: It didn’t include data from all U.S. hospitals or suicidal behaviors that didn’t involve a hospital visit. Still, physicians said it fits a pattern of findings that show rates of depression and suicide-related … [Read more...] about Youth Suicidal Behavior Is on the Rise, Especially Among Girls
HHS proposed rule lowers the bar for care and discriminates against certain people
Last Tuesday, March 27, the comment period closed in response to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Proposed Rule: Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care; Delegations of Authority. This proposed rule dangerously expands the ability of institutions and entities, including hospitals, pharmacies, doctors, nurses, even receptionists, to use their religious or moral beliefs to discriminate and deny patients health care. It fails to ensure that all people have equal access to comprehensive and nondiscriminatory services. Nurses and all health care professionals must guard against any erosion of civil rights protections in health care and continue to ensure patients receive quality, medically necessary, and compassionate care. As the most “honest and ethical” profession , a nurse should never refuse to treat a patient based on that person’s individual attributes. Provision 1 of the Code of Ethics … [Read more...] about HHS proposed rule lowers the bar for care and discriminates against certain people
Rural areas face barriers for mental health care
When he was a teenager, one Portage-area resident didn’t feel right, so he went to a psychologist. He was put on medication for mental health-related symptoms. A few years later when he was in the Army, he landed in a VA hospital, where he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder — a chronic mental health condition with symptoms of schizophrenia and symptoms of a mood disorder. The man asked to have is identity concealed in order to discuss his issues candidly. From that point forward, his life was an uphill climb. He began self-medicating and became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He was in and out of treatment facilities and hospitals. “One day, I realized my prime years had been robbed by my mental health condition and drug addiction,” he said. “I got into support groups and listened to what my doctors had been telling me for years: take my medication and get sober.” It’s been 23 years since he made the decision to get help. While … [Read more...] about Rural areas face barriers for mental health care