Veterans wait because of lack of mental health specialists?

VA sees shortfall of mental health specialists
By Gregg Zoroya,
USA TODAY
As thousands of additional veterans seek mental health care every month, the Department of Veterans Affairs is short of psychiatrists, with 20% vacancy rates in much of the country served by VA hospitals, according to department data.

In Montana, where veterans wait an average of five weeks to begin counseling, an eight-bed wing of a mental health facility at Fort Harrison has been vacant for nine months because of a lack of psychiatrists, the VA says. The Rocky Mountain VA region needs to fill nearly one of four psychiatrist positions.

The vacancies occur at a time when the number of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder is increasing by about 10,000 every three months, what experts say is the cumulative effect of a decade of war, VA data show.

More than 230,000 servicemembers have suffered traumatic brain injuries ranging from mild to severe since 2000, according to Pentagon data.

"Last year, VA testified that it has the resources to handle the influx of veterans suffering from the invisible wounds of war," says Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. "Now we learn from them there is a shortage. …VA needs to quickly figure out what the problem is." read more here