In early 2023, a whistleblower at the Atlanta VA revealed that thousands of mental health calls were going unanswered at the hospital’s beleaguered care phone line. In the 18 months since the whistleblower’s complaint was reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta VA says it hired more workers to answer the phones and that effort has paid off.
The health system’s latest data show it has dramatically reduced the number of unanswered mental health calls and improved answer times for veterans in crisis.
“This progress underscores our commitment to providing timely, accessible mental health support for Veterans — and we won’t rest until 100% of calls are answered,” a VA spokesperson said in a statement.
Advocates and veterans in Georgia have decried the strained systems meant to assist thousands of veterans with mental health treatment; they’ve cited a shortage of therapists in the VA who can treat veterans in the state, as well as frequent staff turnover.
The whistleblower complaint focused on breakdowns in what is often supposed to be the first layer of support: mental health calls made directly to the Atlanta VA. The complaint alleged that in a 12-month period, about 7,200 of roughly 22,000 mental health calls made to the Atlanta VA Health Care System went unanswered. VA’s Human Resources Department was slow in hiring applicants who could answer the phones, according to the complaint, and the Atlanta VA had about a third of the staff needed to pick up calls....
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