Here’s what first-ever data shows about military family suicides
Military Times
By: Karen Jowers
September 26, 2019
Of the 123 spouses who died by suicide in 2017, 14 percent, or about 17, were active duty, in dual military marriages.
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The prevalence of suicide among military family members is about the same or less than in the civilian population, according to a report from the Defense Department.
It’s the first time data on military family member suicides has ever been released by the Defense Department. This report includes one year of data: 2017, so there’s no basis of comparison for trends within the community.
Data from 2017 is also the most recent available, because the information is partly dependent on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The overall suicide rate among family members was 6.8 per 100,000 population in 2017, which is less than half the rate in the U.S. general population of 14.5 per 100,000. This measurement is the standard comparison used by the government for suicide rates in populations.
The overall military spouse rate of suicide was 11.5 per 100,000; the rate for dependents was 3.8 per 100,000. Adjusting for age and gender, the rates were comparable to or lower than those in the general population, officials said.
According to the report:
There were 186 reported suicide deaths in 2017, including 123 spouses and 63 dependents. The dependents ranged in age from 12 to 23; and almost half of the dependents who died were 18 years or older. Two-thirds of the spouses who died by suicide were female, and 82 percent were under age 40.
Ages 18 to 60 were used in the rate comparison for spouses. When examined by age, officials said, the suicide rates for female military spouses was 9.1 and for male spouses, 29.4 per 100,000 population. For females and males in the general population, the rates were 8.4 and 28.4 per 100,000 population, respectively.
For active duty spouses, the rate is higher: 13.2 per 100,000.
Firearms were used in more than half of the suicide deaths of military spouses and dependents. For female spouses, that trend departs from suicides of females of similar age in the U.S. general population, where poisoning or drug overdose were as prevalent as firearms.
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...and yet, according to the DOD, they have been working very hard to support the families who support their servicemembers! Seriously?
Businessman indicted in $510 million Tricare fraud scheme
By: The Associated Press
September 27, 2019
JACKSON, Miss. — Federal prosecutors say a Mississippi businessman has been indicted in one of the nation’s largest health care fraud investigations.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced that 52-year-old Wade Ashley Walters of Hattiesburg is charged for his alleged role in a scheme involving fraudulent prescriptions.
Prosecutors say the fraud led to TRICARE and other health care benefit programs reimbursing various companies more than $510 million.
The scheme targeted people insured by TRICARE, which covers military members, their families, retirees and some National Guard members and reservists.
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Doctor pleads guilty to sexually exploiting VA patients
By: The Associated Press
September 27, 2019
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A California doctor has pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting five women — several of them veterans — while doing work for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Edgar Manzanera pleaded guilty Wednesday as trial was to begin on more serious charges of sexual assault. Instead of potentially facing more than a dozen years in prison, Manzanera will be sentenced to three years of probation. He also must surrender his medical license and register as a sex offender.
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“He was all about that baby and she was all about him,” Grandfather dies after saving 3-year-old granddaughter from house explosion
KFOR 4 News
Kelsey Hill
September 24, 2019
“Just thought about the steep grade of that driveway and just knew and kind of came to the conclusions that they were carried up that driveway you know. It wasn`t him, it wasn`t her something carried them up that driveway." Brendon Osteen
MAUD, Okla. - A grandfather rescued his 3-year-old granddaughter after the home they were in exploded.
Don Osteen was a longtime educator, Army Veteran, and Purple Heart recipient. He spent his life putting others first and would help anyone if they needed it, even a stranger.
Brendon Osteen says his father looked forward to every minute that he could spend with his granddaughter, Paetyn.
"That`s what he was first and foremost I mean he was all about that baby and she was all about him,” said Osteen.
He said his father was 15 to 30 feet away from the front door, lighting a candle next to the stove when the explosion happened.
“He wasn`t worried about himself at all. I'll leave it at that, but save her was the message he was trying to get across and he did exactly that,” said Osteen.
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Osteen suffered a collapsed lung, broken ribs, and severe burns, but he was able to carry Paetyn to safety, even navigating the family’s steep driveway to get help.
“He just got out of the house and headed straight to where he knew help was. He tried to get in his truck and his keys were melted to him. His phone was exploded in his pocket," he said.
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VA staff’s instant action prevents a Veteran suicide
VAntage
by Kristen Parker
September 25, 2019
Many common risk factors for suicide are treatable. As a community, we can #BeThere and save Veterans lives through stories of hope and recovery.
In the photo above, Cleveland VA’s lifesaving team includes (from left) Jose Rivera (ED nurse manager), Kimberly Miller (infusion clinic nurse), Jennifer Davis (dietitian), Erin Valenti (infusion clinic nurse manager), Alexandra Murray (psychiatry intern) and Rocco Burke (police officer).
It’s not often that we talk about suicide in terms of lives saved, but recently, the Cleveland VA team saved a Veteran from ending his life.
He came in for his medical appointment for treatment just like any other day. During a casual conversation with a VA team member, he shared his plan for suicide. He had lost hope and didn’t feel he had anything more to offer.
The VA team member wasn’t a mental health provider, a nurse or a doctor, but is a compassionate VA employee who knew how to #BeThere. The VA team member immediately engaged members of the Veteran’s treatment team.
They showed compassion and talked with the Veteran about his needs and together, then they developed a plan that helped him feel safe.
Every member of the VA team flawlessly executed their role to save this Veteran’s life. They got him to the emergency department and, eventually, to the psychiatric assessment and observation center for further treatment.
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Service dog whose story raised awareness of PTSD has died
The Associated Press
By: Pat Eaton-Robb
September 24, 2019
Montalvan took his own life in 2016. He had left Tuesday with family members and the dog was not with him at the time.
HARTFORD, Conn. — A service dog that was the subject of several books by an Iraq war veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder has died.
In this Dec. 16, 2016, photo, Tuesday, a golden retriever, poses in Bethel, Conn. (Cyrus McCrimmon/Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities via AP)
Tuesday, a golden retriever, was 13 when he died Tuesday in Burlington, according to Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities, a service dog training organization that places dogs with veterans.
Tuesday gained fame touring the country with former Army Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan, who wrote the memoir “Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him.”
The book, the first of four written by Montalvan about his life with Tuesday, became a bestseller in 2011. It was credited with helping raise awareness of PTSD and the availability of service dogs for veterans.
Montalvan was a decorated veteran, who was wounded in Iraq and earned two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.
After he came home, his extreme PTSD often prevented him from even leaving his apartment, said Dale Picard, co-founder and executive director of ECAD.
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