For one veteran, the Northfield VA clinic did not provide sufficient mental health care.
Charles Ingram, 51, who served his country honorably, walked up to within 75 feet of the VA clinic in Northfield, New Jersey last Saturday, saturated himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire.
Mr. Charles R. Ingram III of Egg Harbor Township was airlifted Saturday afternoon to the Temple Burn Center in Philadelphia, where he died later that night.
He didn’t leave a note.
The director for Atlantic County VA said the clinic’s daytime hours are a hardship for veterans who work.
While officials have yet to find any information explaining the 51-year-old man’s suicide, veterans’ advocates say his death could be a response to the VA’s serious lack of timely, accessible medical and mental health care.
“At the very least, his actions were an expression of need. We have been asking the VA … for years for Saturday appointments and late Wednesday night appointments, and were told it was going to be taken care of,” Bob Frolow, Atlantic County Veterans Affairs director, told the Press of Atlantic City on Wednesday. “As of today, it is still not.”
The Wilmington VA Medical Center issued a statement saying it was “saddened to learn about the tragic incident that took place outside of the Atlantic County Community Based Outpatient Clinic. … Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family, friends and neighbors.”
“Due to the open investigation and patient privacy concerns, we will not be commenting further at this time,” the statement said, The Press reported.
A VA official told the paper that 22 veterans commit suicide each day in the country. The suicide rate of recent veterans is reported to be 50 percent higher than that of non-military civilians.
Mr. Ingram was reportedly receiving treatment from the Atlantic County Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), part of the Wilmington VA Medical Center system, via their newly implemented telemedicine psychiatric platform. The system was implemented at the Northfield VA clinic in 2011 to increase veteran access to care through improved technology. The telemedicine model is cheaper, but more technology dependent. The results, tragically, speak for themselves.
For those who don’t know, Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies to provide clinical health care at a distance. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities.
There are reports that the operators make it difficult for patients seeking help but the Northfield facility is a good one. The Choice Act which is supposed to allow veterans to use their services elsewhere isn’t working because the VA won’t pay or the operators won’t put them through to the people who deal with the Act.
There are no photos of Mr. Ingram and there is no information about who he was, where he served, nothing. His tragic, desperate, painful death will soon be forgotten and has barely been mentioned.
There is a tragic irony in where he died, so close to help. The reason why he chose this death and this lonely spot has died with him.
The director for Atlantic County VA said the clinic’s daytime hours are a hardship for veterans who work……
WHAT A CROCK…. any excuse to cover your own ass.
Rot in hell, you bastards
“A VA official told the paper that 22 veterans commit suicide each day in the country.”
This is truly sad.
Just think how much better off we’d be if every one of those suicidal vets would take out only ONE pig each, instead.
I’m going to comment as long as I can, but I’m about to have my internet shut off soon. 🙁
Who then, will i agree with when facing life? Your comments are top shelf. Your wit will be missed.
I won’t disappear completely, but this will severely limit my ability to post articles at the times I normally do (late night, mornings). I’ll have to leave my apt. to get decent wi-fi somewhere nearby until I can find an affordable replacement (which I won’t have money for until next month).
Thank you for the kind words, ‘ol stew bum. FTT is a huge part of my life, and has been for nearly 4 years (May).
And thank you, Henry & Laura, for all you do for this country of ours. You are appreciated more than you’ll ever know.
Dammit! 🙁 Got a spare room? I”ll kick in my part!
Sad. Nobody else joined in.
Here’s an example of the VA.
In 2014 in late August.
They called me and said that my Uncle was dead.
I had to finally put him in there due to his dementia.
I took care of him after my aunt died of liver cancer in 04.
Nursed him through two broken hips.
Doctors appointments…handling his business , cooking..insulin etc….
Come to find out he was still alive.
Evidently. …there was another person there that had the exact same name. What are the odds of that?
Yet they called the wrong one.
Some of you know what its like to take care of an elderly person and watch them slowly go insane.
Its not easy.
But he is still kicking.
He was a spook at area 51. My aunt also worked at Lockheed on black ops projects.
I have a story about that when the right article comes up.
But this article is saddening on how our vets are treated.