Patient Shoots Himself Outside VA Medical Center

BY JOHN HOMAN, The Southern

A patient of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Marion suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head Thursday afternoon outside the facility.

Hospital director Warren Hill said the incident occurred about 2:30 p.m. Hill, speaking at a news conference, said the patient was treated on site by medical personnel in the emergency room. They stabilized the man before he was transferred to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.

The Marion facility has yet to receive the green light to resume complex surgeries, which is why the patient was transferred.

Southern Illinois Healthcare spokeswoman Rosslind Rice said at 4:30 p.m. the patient was “undergoing treatment” at Memorial Hospital. “No additional information is available at this time,” she said.

Hill said VA officials were in the process of trying to contact the man’s family members. He did not specify whether the man was an out-patient or an admitted patient. “This was a very tragic incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the patient and the family,” he said. “We cannot disclose any more information on the person involved.”