Thursday at 10: How a Marine's suicide inspired a federal law - WKOW

LAKE DELTON (WKOW) — In July 2016, United States Marine and Wisconsin Dells native Brandon Ketchum sought a fourth inpatient stay at a VA center. When he asked to be placed in a specific unit at the Iowa City VA, Ketchum, who'd served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, was told there were no beds available in that unit.

A report from the facility said Ketchum stormed off before a doctor would complete a suicide risk assessment. Without the placement he sought, Ketchum posted on social media, "Not only did I get a ‘NO’, but three reasons of no based on me being not f***** up enough."

Within hours of leaving the VA campus, Ketchum, 33, shot and killed himself.

Now, five years later, his story is at the center of a push to provide greater mental health services to veterans, particularly those in rural areas. Thursday, on 27 News at 10, A.J. Bayatpour is taking a look at how Brandon's death gained national attention and became the inspiration for a federal law.

source: https://wkow.com/2021/09/22/thursday-at-10-how-a-marines-suicide-inspired-a-federal-law/

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