Leaving armed forces can create a deadly loss of identity, says top military psychiatrist CBC News Posted: Aug 08, 2018
Young veterans leaving the forces are at the highest risk of suicide, says the chief psychiatrist overseeing their care in Canada.
Master Cpl. Joseph Allina during one of three tours in Afghanistan before he retired from the military in 2016. The 35-year-old killed himself in July after struggling with PTSD. (Submitted by Sandra Weissinger)
And a suicide prevention strategy released last year to address this crucial period was not enough to save Master Cpl. Joseph Allina, who took his life in front of the Seaforth Armoury in Vancouver last month. He had retired from the armed forces in 2016 and was a day shy of his 36th birthday when he died.
"This points to the importance of that transition period," Veterans Affairs Canada chief psychiatrist Dr. Alexandra Heber told The Early Edition host Stephen Quinn on Wednesday.
A major study by Veteran Affairs Canada, Health Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces concluded last year that veterans are committing suicide in Canada at a much higher rate than the general population.
State lawmakers allege Veterans Affairs committed HIPAA violation; director calls that 'unfathomable' NewsOK Justin Wingerter Published: Wed, August 8, 2018
Three state legislators have called for the firing of two Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs leaders, alleging they violated federal privacy laws — an allegation the agency's executive director called “unfathomable.”
A resident sits in the hallway in the special needs unit at the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs' Talihina Veterans Center in this photo from 2017. [Photo by Mike Simons, Tulsa World file]
In a letter to Gov. Mary Fallin, Democratic Reps. Brian Renegar, Chuck Hoskin and David Perryman requested Fallin fire Veterans Affairs Executive Director Doug Elliott and clinical compliance director Tina Williams.
The lawmakers claim the crash of internet access and Veterans Affairs software on July 24 prompted Veterans Affairs leadership to order employees at the state's seven care centers to copy patient medical records onto the employees' personal cellphones.
“This is a direct violation of federal HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations,” the legislators told Fallin. They say the alleged HIPAA violation “could jeopardize the millions of federal funding dollars coming to our Oklahoma veterans.” read more here
MJ Hegar served in the Air Force for 12 years, first as an aircraft maintenance mechanic and later as a pilot. She deployed three times to Afghanistan, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross on her final tour. Courtesy MJ Hegar’s campaign
Ms. Provost, who was appointed acting chief of the Border Patrol last year, will become the first woman to lead the Border Patrol in its 94-year history.
Carla Provost, who has been serving as acting chief of the Border Patrol, is being promoted to lead the agency. Credit:Lexey Swall for The New York Times
This all-female flight crew just made history
"While we are very proud to have made history yesterday by being the first all-female flight crew, we are more proud of the mission we are doing and the safety we are providing for people," said Waddington, who has been a pilot with the NOAA Corps for eight years.
Pilots Rebecca Waddington and Kristie Twining made history on their flight to Hurricane Hector. Add those women to these!
The Shadow Rulers of the VA ProPublica By Isaac Arnsdorf 8 Aug 2018
At times, Perlmutter, Moskowitz and Sherman have created headaches for VA officials because of their failure to follow government rules and processes. In other cases, they used their influence in ways that could benefit their private interests.
A June 21, 2013 file photo of the Veterans Affairs Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Last February, shortly after Peter O’Rourke became chief of staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs, he received an email from Bruce Moskowitz with his input on a new mental health initiative for the VA. “Received,” O’Rourke replied. “I will begin a project plan and develop a timeline for action.”
O’Rourke treated the email as an order, but Moskowitz is not his boss. In fact, he is not even a government official. Moskowitz is a Palm Beach doctor who helps wealthy people obtain high-service “concierge” medical care.
More to the point, he is one-third of an informal council that is exerting sweeping influence on the VA from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida. The troika is led by Ike Perlmutter, the reclusive chairman of Marvel Entertainment, who is a longtime acquaintance of President Trump’s. The third member is a lawyer named Marc Sherman. None of them has ever served in the U.S. military or government.
Yet from a thousand miles away, they have leaned on VA officials and steered policies affecting millions of Americans. They have remained hidden except to a few VA insiders, who have come to call them “the Mar-a-Lago Crowd.”
“On any veterans issue, the first person the president calls is Ike,” another former official said. Former administration officials say that VA leaders who were at odds with the Mar-A-Lago Crowd were pushed out or passed over. Included, those officials say, were the secretary (whose ethical lapses also played a role), deputy secretary, chief of staff, acting under secretary for health, deputy under secretary for health, chief information officer, and the director of electronic health records modernization.
Moskowitz and Sherman helped Perlmutter convene a council of health care executives on the day of the Trump-Perlmutter photograph, Dec. 28, 2016. Offering more private healthcare to vets was a signature promise of Trump’s campaign, but at that point he hadn’t decided who should lead an effort that would reverse the VA’s longstanding practices. read more here
Missing Baytown officer found dead Tuesday morning KHOU Author: David Gonzalez, Jamie Galvan August 7, 2018
Sheriff Hawthorne said everyone is trying to understand how a local hero who seemed to have everything going for him would make the tragic decision to end his life.
Officer Stewart Beasley, a 23-year veteran, was last seen at his Chambers County home around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. His wife reported him missing that night.
CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas — The search for a missing Baytown Police officer is over.
Chambers County Sheriff’s Office deputies, along with Texas Search and Rescue, discovered the body of Officer Stewart Beasley around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Beasley’s body was found in a field less than a mile from his home.
Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said Beasley died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“We’re cops. We’re supposed to stand in the face of evil, and so sometimes it’s hard for us to admit that we have a problem. It’s hard for us to admit we’re dealing with issues that we can’t cope with, because we’re supposed to be able to cope with anything.” Lt. Dorris read more here
