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Posts Tagged ‘traumatic brain injury treatment’
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) health care system is not the most efficient system in the world in many aspects. Many veterans find they have to see numerous different doctors over the course of their various treatments. Many patients feel there is very little continuity to their treatments, and that is a problem. This is especially problematic when those doctors are specialists.
The Home Base Program is different. The program works with Massachusetts General Hospital and provides free health care to veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The Boston Red Sox Foundation funds the program, hence the name.
2009 saw the beginning of the Home Base Program. They recently opened their first clinic just outside of Massachusetts General Hospital. To date, the Home Base Program has provided treatment for over 200 veterans. That number is a drop in the proverbial bucket, however, as there are approximately 12,000 veterans in Massachusetts being treated for mental health issues through the VA health care system.
The Home Base Program is designed to serve as an addition to the health care received at the VA. For those wounded veterans hesitant to deal with the VA, the Home Base Program serves as another path to take towards receiving treatment. A path of seemingly less resistance.
Many veterans feel more comfortable away from the VA. Being more comfortable seems to translate into being able to make more progress, according to some Home Base Program patients. The Home Base Program would like to focus on helping veterans who have served since 11Sep2001, but will treat any veteran free of charge.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Disabled Veterans, Home Base Program, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury treatment, VA Health Care System
Posted in Disabled Veterans, VA News, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Veterans diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) may wait years for symptoms to become apparent. Once diagnosed, however, treatment is available, and depending on the severity of the injury, it can be successful. The VA is constantly developing new treatments for TBI.
The question becomes how the veterans handle life once their TBI has been treated. Colorado State University (CSU) has developed a program called “A New Start.” This program is tailored to helping people with TBIs adjust by giving them the skills they need to start educational and occupational phases in their lives.
A New Start is run by the Center for Community Partnerships. This is an outreach arm of the Department of Occupational Therapy in the College of Applied Human Services. Not only does the program provide a “re-entry system” for veterans, it provides occupational therapy students at CSU a chance to perform fieldwork with the veterans. For the students it is a chance to learn how to work with particular disabilities.
The “re-entry system” provided to veterans involves helping the veteran find work whether it be full time or just an internship to get their foot in the door. Beyond that, the program provides the veterans with skills on how to deal with emotional issues such as anger and depression. The program seeks to show veterans why certain careers would be good fits for them, individually.
Many veterans with brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or anxiety can be triggered by any number of things such as loud noises, crowds, trees, dogs, etc. With so many potential triggers, it is not surprising many of these veterans have such a problem keeping a job. Many veterans also suffer from sleeplessness and short-term memory loss, which both increase the possibility veterans will not acclimate well to their new environment.
To combat these issues, A New Start gives these returning veterans a “battle buddy” to help negotiate many of the issues facing veterans so as to avoid triggers. These battle buddies also help line up internships and assist with scheduling. This type of personalized service is what sets this program apart from others. The program is also free to the veteran as it is paid for by the referring agency.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: A New Start, Disabled Veterans, job programs for veterans, occupational therapy, PTSD, TBI, traumatic brain injury treatment, VA health care, Veteran Mental Health Care
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have become the most prevalent injury seen in veterans returning from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. In an effort to provide better care, President Obama signed The McNerny Bill into law.
McNerny, a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, wrote the bill to advance available health care for those veterans suffering from TBIs. The bill was signed in under the incredibly comprehensive Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers have struggled to keep up with treating the sheer amount of veterans suffering from TBIs requiring care. At the same time as they administer “traditional” treatments, the VA is always trying to develop new and improved ways in which to treat these veterans.
Because of this bill, the VA will be much better prepared to provide the required treatment to those suffering veterans. The bill creates a panel to first evaluate how the VA provides medical treatment to veterans with TBIs and second to make annual recommendations about how the VA can improve. Additionally, the bill provides for education and training programs focused on TBIs for VA health providers.
10,963 service members had been diagnosed with TBIs in 2000. By December 2009 that number was 27,862. The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center lists the leading causes as:
- War-zone blasts;
- Gunfire; and
- Shrapnel.
This legislation is much needed as there are so many veterans in need of care. It is hoped this bill will aid those veterans suffering from TBIs get the progressive care they require.
Learn more about the McNerny Bill and how it will help veterans suffering from TBIs.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Disabled Veterans, TBI, The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act (S.B. 1693), Traumatic Brain Injury, traumatic brain injury treatment, VA health care, Veterans' Benefits
Posted in Disabled Veterans, VA News | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have been working together to expand care for military personnel and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). More specifically, they are focusing on helping those after they’ve been discharged from their rehabilitation centers. This comes on the heels of a 2007 law requiring the departments to work together to improve TBI treatment.
Each department is making their own contributions to the overall goal of enhancing TBI treatment. The two departments working together have developed a completely inclusive plan to improve:
- Research;
- Prevention;
- Early detection;
- Treatment; and
- Outreach.
The DoD’s focus on improving prevention has resulted in more effective protective equipment to include a new combat helmet still being designed. In improving early detection, the DoD has amplified its mandatory concussion screenings to 4 levels and will now begin screening as close to the time the injury occurred as possible. The DoD’s contribution to treating TBI has come in the forms of a published clinical practice guideline and an electronic consultation service.
The VA and the Brain Injury Center have also teamed up with private service organizations. They have been working with the Assisted Living for Veterans with TBI project to help those veterans suffering from TBI.
The VA also works with the VA Polytrauma/TBI System of Care which offers many different levels of care and support. They work to integrate family involvement as much as possible and VA case managers handle every case.
Of the 1,736 soldiers and veterans identified with severe brain injuries between March 2003 and December 2009, 879 were active duty. Of those, 736 received their injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan.
While not every soldier or veteran suffering from TBI is completely disabled, there are still many that are. Hopefully the VA and the DoD working together as a united front will continue to develop more comprehensive care.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Defense, Disabled Veterans, TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, traumatic brain injury treatment, VA health care, Veterans' Benefits
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Benefits | No Comments »
Monday, April 5th, 2010
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have quickly become one of the most prevalent injuries among veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, treatment for TBIs is still being studied and is very much under development.
Approximately 100,000 military personnel have been diagnosed with TBI since 2003. As part of the seemingly endless search for a better treatment method, the Department of Defense (DoD) is hopeful that hyperbaric chambers may be the answer.
Hyperbaric chambers, which are pressurized oxygen chambers, are usually used when a person has suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. The usefulness of hyperbaric chambers and their treatment effectiveness on TBI patients has been studied in the past and a new study is slated to begin in January, 2011.
There has been no conclusive evidence whether hyperbaric chambers can eliminate or even reduce TBI symptoms such as:
- Headaches;
- Memory Loss; and
- Mood swings.
The new TBI treatment study will last approximately 18 months and include 300 volunteers consisting mainly of soldiers and Marines. The study will be conducted by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury and the Army Research and Material Command. The sites that will be participating in the study are:
- Fort Carson, Colorado;
- Camp Pendleton, CA;
- Camp Lejeune, N.C.;
- Brooks City-Base, Texas, and
- Fort Hood, Texas (possibly).
Once inside the chambers, participants breathe 100% oxygen at 1.35 atmospheres of pressure. This is the same amount of pressure your body would experience if you dove 20-25 feet under water. In theory, the pressure will cause the oxygen in the brain to dissolve which allows more oxygen to flow through the body and therefore repair damaged tissue. To get a measuring base, the control group will be exposed to a similar amount of pressure but will be given regular air instead of 100% oxygen, which dissolves at the regular rate.
Chambers can house anywhere from 3 to 16 subjects at a time. Every person will sit in the chamber for 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, for a total of 40 sessions. Ideally, the participants in the study will have suffered a TBI within the last 4-6 months and are still healing.
Successfully treating TBIs has been a mystery to date. Hopefully this new study can give some direction as to what needs to, or can be, done for those soldiers and veterans suffering from a traumatic brain injury.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Disabled Veterans, hyperbaric chambers, TBI, traumatic brain injury treatment
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General | 2 Comments »
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