Noteboom The Law Firm

El Paso VA Medical Center Failing Veterans in Suicide Prevention

October 8, 2010 - According to the VA, the El Paso VA Medical Center mishandled potentially suicidal patients. The report spotlighted Suicide Prevention Safety Plans and the El Paso VA Medical Center's failure to properly implement them.

Suicide Prevention Safety Plans are intended to not only help veterans work through their suicidal thoughts, but to help them attempt to prevent those thoughts in the future. Ideally, the plans would help all veterans see what suicide is not the answer to their problems and that they have better options.

The VA's report reprimanded the El Paso VA for failing to provide each patient considered high-risk for suicide with a plan in how to avoid getting to the point of wanting to take their own life. After being presented with the report, the El Paso VA agreed with the VA's assessments of their shortcomings. They have already taken action and have implemented the processes needed to bring them up to standard.

Jennifer Suitonu, Chief of Quality and Systems Improvement, commented on how effortless it is to design and put into action a suicide safety plan when a high-risk suicide veteran walks into a VA medical center. When that same veteran turns to private care for help things become more complicated. The VA is still held responsible for creating suicide prevention plans for those veterans. When that veteran is located somewhere else, and not in contact with VA personnel, however, the difficulty of being able to accurately assess the patient is severely increased.