Veteran Administration Effort To Hire 1,600 Mental Health Professionals Hits Community Clinics’ Supply

Circle Connections: New Products & Services The Department of Veterans Affairs, trying to cope with a surge in psychological needs of veterans, has vowed to hire 1,600 additional mental health care professionals by the end of June, but some experts say the pool of qualified candidates is too small and the federal effort could jeopardize already- understaffed community health organizations. The VA told a Senate committee in late March that it had hired 1,089 additional staff with four months remaining until the deadline, and Michael Culpepper, the VA's chief officer for workforce management, said in an interview . . .