Military

The VA Medical Center Addresses Mental Health Criticism

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published May 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM PDT

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has ordered the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department to overhaul its mental health care for vets with symptoms of combat stress. Two veterans organizations sued the VA, arguing vets are waiting too long to get treatment.

Kathleen Kim, acting chief of staff at the VA Medical Center in La Jolla, said she is unable to address the issues raised in the law suit. But she said the Medical Center is meeting required goals set by the VA.

“Several years ago, the VA implemented the rule that if someone came in with a mental health complaint, that he or she is triaged within 24 hours, and sees a mental health provider within 14 days," said Kim. "We have been very successful at meeting that measure.”

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Kim said of the 28,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan enrolled with the VA in this region, 1,200 are diagnosed with PTSD. She said the VA Medical Center in La Jolla has 12 mental health professionals assigned to treat them. They also have 20 case managers.

The VA offers group therapy but the younger vets prefer individual treatment, added Kim.

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.