Veterans in acute suicidal crisis will be able to go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for emergency health care at no cost – including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days. Veterans do not need to be enrolled in the VA system to use this benefit.
This expansion of care will help prevent Veteran suicide by guaranteeing no cost, world-class care to Veterans in times of crisis. It will also increase access to acute suicide care for up to 9 million Veterans who are not currently enrolled in VA.
Preventing Veteran suicide is VA’s top clinical priority and a top priority of the Biden-Harris Administration. This effort is a key part of VA’s 10-year National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide and the Biden-Harris administration’s plan for Reducing Military and Veteran Suicide. In September, VA released the 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, which showed that Veteran suicides decreased in 2020 for the second year in a row, and that fewer Veterans died by suicide in 2020 than in any year since 2006.
The final policy, which took effect on Jan. 17, will allow VA to:
- Provide, pay for, or reimburse for treatment of eligible individuals’ emergency suicide care, transportation costs, and follow-up care at a VA or non-VA facility for up to 30 days of inpatient care and 90 days of outpatient care.
- Make appropriate referrals for care following the period of emergency suicide care.
- Determine eligibility for other VA services and benefits.
- Refer eligible individuals for appropriate VA programs and benefits following the period of emergency suicide care.
Eligible individuals, regardless of VA enrollment status, are:
- Veterans who were discharged or released from active duty after more than 24 months of active service under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former members of the armed forces, including reserve service members, who served more than 100 days under a combat exclusion or in support of a contingency operation either directly or by operating an unmanned aerial vehicle from another location who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former members of the armed forces who were the victim of a physical assault of a sexual nature, a battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment while serving in the armed forces.
Over the past year, VA has announced or continued several additional efforts to end Veteran suicide, including establishing 988 (then press 1) as a way for Veterans to quickly connect with caring, qualified crisis support 24/7; proposing a new rule that would reduce or eliminate copayments for Veterans at risk of suicide; conducting an ongoing public outreach effort on firearm suicide prevention and lethal means safety; and leveraging a national Veteran suicide prevention awareness campaign, “Don’t Wait. Reach Out.”
VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System has also made Suicide Prevention its top clinical priority. All VASNHS sites of care provide same-day services for Veterans with urgent mental health needs during regular business hours, as well as after-hours care in the Emergency Department at the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center. Access to same-day services doesn’t replace emergency care and Veterans in crisis should call 911, visit the nearest emergency room, or contact the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 (Option 1) OR Text 838255; OR confidential chat: www.veteranscrisisline.net.
 Starting Friday, Feb. 17, Clark County and participating government agencies will host a trio of online surplus auctions for vehicles and equipment and miscellaneous items on TNT Auction’s website at www.tntauction.com.
Catalogs listing hundreds of items to be sold will be available for viewing on TNT’s website and regularly updated as the dates of the sales get closer. Information about registering as a bidder and the terms and conditions for participation also is on the website. All bidding will take place online starting at 8 a.m. on the date of each sale:
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Friday, Feb. 17 – Harry Reid International Airport Lost & Found items
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Monday, Feb. 20 – Vehicle & Equipment
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Tuesday, Feb. 21 – Miscellaneous (includes computers and office equipment)
Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17 & 18 Public Preview: The public will be able to preview most of the vehicles and miscellaneous items being sold at TNT’s auction yard lot at 4530 Alto Ave., located southeast of Lamb Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue. On-site hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18. About 200 vehicles and 300 lots of miscellaneous items will be sold. No airport lost and found items are available for preview but pictures of the lots of items being sold are in the online catalog.
Clark County works with TNT Auction to host three surplus auctions each year, typically in February, May and November, to sell vehicles and equipment used or acquired by government agencies in Southern Nevada. Participating agencies include the area cities, local police departments and the state of Nevada. For further details, the public may contact TNT Auction’s toll free at (855) 317-5133.
Drought and climate change continue to drastically impact the Colorado River Basin, and federally mandated water cuts will further reduce the amount of water that Southern Nevada can withdraw from Lake Mead. To help reduce water use immediately, the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) has equalized water usage tiers for all single-family residential customers (regardless of meter size) and implemented an excessive use charge for the community’s largest residential water users.
As of January 1, water usage tiers have been equalized across all single-family residential meter sizes. This increased water conservation measure is expected to save more than 1 billion gallons of water each year and ensure that all LVVWD customers pay the same amount of water they use.
At the same time, the LVVWD has also implemented an excessive use charge, which will encourage the highest residential water users to conserve or pay significantly more for their excessive water use each season. The seasonal thresholds were set to target the community’s top 10 percent of water users, but everyone can do their part to save water. Learn more about these rate adjustments or estimate your 2023 water bill at lvvwd.com.
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Clark County’s 1 October Memorial Committee has reached a new and significant phase in its effort to create a lasting memorial to remember the events of the 1 October tragedy. Five design teams selected from the first of a three-phase process to develop a concept for a memorial are now at work developing project proposals.
Community engagement continues to be a top committee priority. The teams are expected to review all creative expression submissions submitted by the public and individual artists during the first phase of the process launched last summer. The teams also are expected to seek input from the public and those impacted by the tragedy as they work on their proposals. Their concepts will be unveiled in June, and the committee is scheduled to deliver its recommendation for a project to the County Commission in September. Anyone interested in participating in community engagement opportunities being hosted by the teams as they work on proposals over the next few months is encouraged to reach out to them directly. Contact information for each team is listed on the committee’s website at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov/1OctoberMemorial.
The committee, which began meeting in October 2020, was appointed by the County Commission to gather input from the public and develop recommendations for a permanent memorial that includes a project design, site, programming and maintenance needs as well as funding solutions. The goal is to create a memorial that remembers those who perished in the attack at the Route 91 music festival on Oct. 1, 2017, honors the survivors, first responders and many heroes who inspired the nation with their bravery, and celebrates the resiliency and compassion of our community. As a result of the committee’s work, MGM Resorts International is donating two acres on the northeast corner of the concert site off Reno Avenue and Giles Street for the memorial. The donation was offered to Clark County after a majority of respondents in a committee survey indicated a clear preference for a memorial to be built at the festival site.
Click here for the most recent agenda, minutes and audio.
Click here for the most recent agenda, minutes and audio.
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