Tierney tours Lynn VA clinic

LYNN – In the face of Veterans Administration statistics indicating 22 people in the military commit suicide every day, VA doctors are using television to rush mental health services and other care to men and women who serve or have served in the armed forces.?There are way too many suicides,” said U.S. Rep. John Tierney.During his tour Friday of the Lynn Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, Tierney met with psychotherapy patients talking to a doctor with the aid of two-way television technology called “telehealth.” The Salem Democrat secured federal money to open the clinic in 2009.Bedford Veterans Administration acting chief of staff Dan Berlowitz said “telehealth” care is vital to assuring military men and women receive mental health services and other help.The VA runs 140 facilities nationwide as well as clinics and other healthcare sites connected to each facility. The Lynn outpatient clinic allows veterans to travel from their Lynn homes to Boston Street to receive care instead of traveling to Bedford or Boston, but not every medical professional specializing in every health care need is available at all times to see veterans at the clinic.?Telehealth is a way to reach out to where veterans are,” Berlowitz said.Tierney said one way to provide more doctors and other professionals to care for veterans is to forgive federal student loans to medical degree earners who embark on VA-related health care careers.He said much more work needs to be done to help service personnel, including those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, with post traumatic stress and other mental health problems. Working with service people “on the battlefield” to deal with these problems is a good idea, Tierney said, but one that presents challenges.?Lots of guys and gals don?t want to talk about it,” he said.Disabled Americans Veterans member Robert Ruggiero of Swampscott is aware of the reluctance among veterans to talk about mental health problems. But, he said, veterans will open up and talk to other veterans. He said the clinic and similar facilities could benefit from having a veteran on site who can talk to military personnel seeking help.?In the military, there is a saying, ?Suck it up and move on.? You keep your composure even if you are hurting,” Ruggiero said.Berlowitz said about 2,000 veterans receive primary medical care at the Boston Street clinic. The facility is expanding mental health services, and George Fitzhenry, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy, said older veterans can benefit from mental health care.?There was a time, unfortunately, when if you couldn?t see the illness, it wasn?t there,” he said.