VA Mental Health Director Asked to Resign over Suicide Cover-Up

by: Brandon Friedman

Thu Apr 24, 2008 at 03:00:24 AM EDT


We need to get rid of people like this:

Two Democratic senators on Tuesday called for the chief mental health official of the Veterans Affairs Department to resign, saying he tried to cover up the rising number of veteran suicides.

Sens. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii and Patty Murray of Washington state said Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's mental health director, withheld crucial information on the true suicide risk among veterans.

"Dr. Katz's irresponsible actions have been a disservice to our veterans, and it is time for him to go," said Murray, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. "The No. 1 priority of the VA should be caring for our veterans, not covering up the truth."

Akaka, the committee's chairman, said in a letter to the VA that Katz's "personal conduct and professional judgment" had been called into question by his response to veteran suicides.

Veterans, and the VA itself, "would be best served by his immediate resignation," Akaka said.

A number of Democratic senators said they were appalled at e-mails showing Katz and other VA officials apparently trying to conceal the number of suicides by veterans. An e-mail message from Katz disclosed this week as part of a lawsuit that went to trial in San Francisco starts with "Shh!" and claims 12,000 veterans a year attempt suicide while under department treatment.

I haven't been able to really delve into this story as much as I'd have liked to this week, but we've got more coming.  Thankfully, Ernie1812 has been covering this in the diaries over the past few days.  You can read the whole story (and see video), as presented by Ernie, here and here.

We're not done with Ira Katz.  

Brandon Friedman :: VA Mental Health Director Asked to Resign over Suicide Cover-Up
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Goodbye "Shhhhhhz Katz" (0.00 / 0)
my fingers are crossed. May they find a replacement that is better than the replacement they found for Nicholson.........One can only hope.

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