One in every five Servicemembers returns from combat with at least one serious mental health issue. With only 16 psychologists per every 100,000 rural residents, rural Veterans face greater access challenges when seeking mental health support. Moreover, rural Veterans are more likely than their urban peers to suffer from current and lifetime depression or commit suicide.
The Office of Rural Health (ORH) is committed to working with our clinical partners to address these challenges through a variety of programs that connect rural Veterans with VA mental health care programs closer to home.
In case you missed it, last quarter’s issue featured some of VA’s efforts to provide innovative health care technology options for Veterans, especially in the area of transportation.
In this issue:
- VA Provides Free Mental Health Training to Community Clergy to Support Rural Veterans
- Telehealth Care for Rural Veterans with PTSD
- Veterans Rural Health Resource Center in Iowa City Wins Dr. Linda K. Hall Innovation Award for Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
- VA Mobile Technologies Support Emergent Acute Stroke Care in Puerto Rico
- Meet the New Rural Scholars Fellows
- Three Steps to Access ‘Community Care’
- The 2018-2019 Flu Season is Here; Are You Ready?
As you will read throughout these articles, ORH and its partners are committed to make a healthy difference in the communities in which Veterans work and live. Our ultimate goal remains the improvement of access and quality of care for Veterans residing in rural and highly rural communities.
Thomas Klobucar, Ph.D. Acting Executive Director, Office of Rural Health