South Dakota veterans get mental care sooner

South Dakota veterans get mental care sooner
Report finds problems in other states
11:46 PM, Nov. 14, 2011

Written by
Steve Young


South Dakota’s veterans have a shorter wait for mental health care than patients in many states, according to an analysis by USA Today.

The critical report doesn’t reflect services at South Dakota’s Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, officials here say.

The newspaper reported last week that veterans seeking therapy at nearly one-third of VA hospitals and clinics wait three to six weeks to begin treatment, far longer than the VA’s stated goal of seeing patients within 14 days or less. Those findings contrast with the VA’s assertion that fewer than 5 percent of patients wait longer than 14 days.
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