Congresswoman Angie Craig Pushes for Improved Mental Health Services in Minneapolis VA Hospital

Today, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig sent a letter to the United States Comptroller General Gene Dodaro urging the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to consider the tragic loss of a veteran's life near the Minneapolis VA Hospital as it fulfills the requirements of the Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act. This law requires GAO to conduct an assessment of the responsibilities, workload and vacancy rates of Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention coordinators.

"I have a responsibility to make sure our veterans are honored and taken care of when they return home, and that includes available and high-quality mental health services," said Rep. Angie Craig. "We must ensure full case coordination. One failure is too many. That's why I am asking the Government Accountability Office to examine what led to this miscoordination and implement immediate solutions to ensure our Suicide Prevention Coordinators are fully prepared and equipped to support our veterans."

Rep. Craig was a cosponsor of the bipartisan Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act which was signed into law in December 2019 to help address the suicide epidemic hurting our veterans. Suicide Prevention Coordinators are the face of the VA's efforts to combat veteran suicide. They identify high-risk veterans and ensure they receive appropriate care, conduct outreach, and promote awareness and suicide prevention best practices within VA, among other responsibilities. Many Suicide Prevention Coordinators report being overworked and unable to keep up with their many responsibilities. The Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act would help ensure these men and women have the tools and resources they need to provide Veterans with critical mental health resources.

Full text of the letter can be found below.

The Honorable Gene Dodaro

Comptroller General of the United States

U.S. Government Accountability Office

441 G St, NW

Washington, D.C. 20548

Dear Comptroller Dodaro,

I am writing to encourage you to consider the recent healthcare inspection done by the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) as you prepare your assessment of suicide coordinators within the Department of Veteran Affairs (as directed by P.L. 116-96, the Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act).

The OIG recently conducted a healthcare inspection (#19-00468-67) regarding a patient who died by suicide while admitted to an inpatient medicine unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. The report found several deficiencies, however, this case highlights a particularly grave error in case coordination.

While the Minneapolis VA does have a suicide prevention coordinator, the OIG report found that there was an unfortunate failure of communication on the part of the emergency staff, as the suicide prevention coordinator was not notified of the patient's suicidal behavior. As a result of this lack of coordination, the patient was not cared for with the necessary level of urgency, and the situation ended tragically.

As a cosponsor and proud supporter of the Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act, I believe it is vital to address the shortcomings made evident by the OIG's report, and I strongly encourage you to take them into account as you formulate your own assessment.

Thank you for your consideration of my request

Sincerely,

Angie Craig

Member of Congress