Vets affairs officer sent email mocking returning vets' mental health

A manager at a medical center from veterans in Indianapolis has been removed from her $80,000 position over an email that mocked the mental health of returning combat veterans.

Robin Paul, a manager at the Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center, sent the email making light of mental health issues and patient's suffering to her staff on December 18.

It featured a series of photos of a Christmas elf posing as one of the hospital's patients, pleading for Xanax and hanging itself with an electrical cord.

Paul oversees a staff of more than 30 health care professionals in the Seamless Transition Integrated Care Clinic, which is responsible for assisting new veterans with their VA benefits, services and programs, to include mental health.

The email was forward to The Indianapolis Star, who reported it on Monday and the next day Paul was placed on paid administrative leave pending further investigation.

Paul's boss Tom Mattice described the email as 'completely and totally unacceptable.'

'It in no way reflects the attitudes of our staff toward our patients. We take great pride in the quality of care and the empathetic outreach we provide to the veterans we have the honor of serving,' he said.

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