VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System

“Local news outlets recently reported a high-speed chase of a Veteran the evening of July 1, 2017 whose family named VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System as having seen the Veteran just prior to the incident and subsequent arrest by California Highway Patrol on two felony charges. GLA takes very seriously any allegations of mishandling of care for our Veterans patients. Although we are restricted from speaking about any patient's private medical records, we can tell you he was last seen, evaluated and released by our Emergency Department on June 10 after being detained by VA Police for inappropriate behavior from an adjacent VA campus. We have spoken with staff members in our Emergency Department and reviewed electronic files, and to date have found no record of this Veteran being seen anywhere at the West LA medical facility on July 1st. We also reached out to Long Beach and Loma Linda VA Medical Centers who also confirmed the Veteran did not check in to their facility that evening.

Our policy and priority regarding Veterans in crisis require that immediate attention and care be provided to any patient who presents themselves at any one of our facilities as being in crisis. VA’s top priority is in providing quality and timely care for all our Veterans, especially those with any mental health concerns or suicidal ideations. For any of our Veterans or families who may be in crisis, we encourage them to reach out and get help via the National Veterans Crisis Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. GLA stands by ready to assist and support our Veterans in times of crisis in any way possible.”