Approximately 60 percent – 1.1 million – of all separated Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/ Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/OND veterans have used Veterans Affairs (VA) health care since October 1, 2001. Between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014, almost 700,000 of these veterans accessed VA health care and 56.9% had mental disorders. In a study of 20,500 OEF and OIF veterans, 13.5% of deployed and non-deployed veterans screened positive for PTSD. Our veterans are not receiving adequate care.

This issue can be addressed by implementing and maintaining the “Have You Ever Served?” campaign, initiated by the American Academy of Nursing. Healthcare professionals have the power to decrease these numbers by asking this one important question. By asking this question, healthcare professionals can identify suicidal risks such as irrational thinking, paranoia, despair and other observable risks. Health professionals see 136.3 million patients in the ER yearly; by asking each one if have they served in the military they can effectively identify veterans with mental health issues and precursors for mental problems.

Other risks that lead to mental health issues that can be identified in an ER visit are traumatic events while in the military, sexually traumatic experiences, blast concussions and traumatic brain injuries. Healthcare professionals can lighten the load of the government and the VA by doing full mental, physical and emotional assessments of veterans upon emergency visits, which is usually the first place they go when an issue is arising. This could decrease the suicide rate of deployed veterans from 41% as well as decrease veterans’ abuse of drugs and alcohol and veteran homelessness. Asking this question could be very important in identifying early signs of mental deterioration and getting the veterans the appropriate care they need and deserve.

It has been three years since President Obama called for reform in an executive order and the VA has still not held up their side of the bargain, as seen by the statistics mentioned above. It is time for doctors and nurses to step up to the front line and take care of the people that put their lives at risk for the United States of America. The government needs to provide the health professionals of America with the education and tools they need to effectively identify and care for at-risk veterans. It is time to actually make change in a positive direction.