U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy convened a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee field hearing Thursday in Metairie to discuss gaps in mental health care for Louisiana veterans, from long wait times and rural isolation to provider shortages and the stigma that keeps many from seeking help.

Mental health challenges are prominent among veterans, with approximately one-third of all VA users having at least one mental health visit in a given year. But the situation for Louisiana’s 262,000 veterans is especially dire, witnesses said.

Based on initial data from a survey conducted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, PTSD rates among Louisiana veterans could be as high as 45% — more than twice the national average. Forty-two percent of veterans who were surveyed live more than an hour from a VA cli

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