Dive Brief:
- Robin Paul, a manager at a VA medical center, sent an e-mail message to her employees that appears to poke fun at returning veterans with mental health issues.
- The e-mail includes photographs of a Christmas elf posing as a patient at the hospital's transitional clinic for returning veterans. In the photos, the elf pleads for Xanax and tries to hang himself with an electrical cord.
- Paul, a licensed social worker, has publicly apologized; she is still employed as a manager at the clinic.
Dive Insight:
Julie Webb, a spokesperson for the VA medical center, says the issue has been "administratively addressed," but she declined to provide specifics. "The e-mail is totally inappropriate and does not convey our commitment to veterans," she said. "We apologize to our veterans and take suicide and mental-health treatment seriously, striving to provide the highest quality." The fact that Paul is still running the clinic is incongruent with Webb's statement.