Group items tagged

Photos New PTSD Clinic uses virtual reality Dr. Alan Maiers (left), the assistant chief of the Warrior Resiliancy Program at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, simulates a virtual reality city patrol Aug. 26 for Maj. Monty Baker, the Warrior Resiliancy Program director of research. The virtual reality program is designed to treat servicemembers who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder after returning from combat operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Amber Bressler) Download HiRes Wilford Hall opens new PTSD Clinic Posted 9/17/2009 Email story Print story by Linda Frost 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs 9/17/2009 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Wilford Hall Medical Center has a new clinic to treat patients who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD Clinic offers evidence-based treatments and a virtual reality program to help Airmen returning from combat operations. PTSD is an anxiety disorder which can occur after a person has been through a traumatic event, according to the National Center for PTSD. "We want to provide the highest quality care possible for patients experiencing PTSD," said Col. (Dr.) Gerald Talcott, 59th Medical Wing Mental Health Squadron commander. As part of the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, the PTSD Clinic was created in response to the increasing number of service and family members with PTSD. It is timely in that it coincides with the establishment of the Air Force's new Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, a pilot program initiated at eight Air Force bases. The Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, using a computer-simulated Virtual Iraq and Virtual Afghanistan, allows Airmen to interact and recreate a traumatic scene and recall sights, sounds, smells, thoughts and feelings. Still in its preliminary stages, the clinic staff started seeing patients Aug. 3, and is led by Dr. Kellie Crowe, staff psychologist. "We are very excited about providing evidence-based treat

MHS's own Dr. Kilpatrick, will serve on HHS' Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. S. Ward Casscells speaks about global health and national security. (Speech given at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., January 7, 2009.)

Casscells introduced a new communications strategy for the Military Health System that uses Web 2.0 technologies to improve patient outcomes, family conn

Col. (Dr.) Francisco J. Rentas, Director of Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) discusses the organization and its efforts surrounding National Blood Donor M...

A new study of US veterans suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms that increases heart disease and diabetes risk, may be linked. Dr Pia S. Heppner of the Veterans Affairs San Diego Health System in La Jolla and her colleagues found that the more severe a person's PTSD symptoms, the more likely they were to also have the metabolic syndrome. Evidence is mounting that exposure to trauma can worsen physical health, including increasing heart disease risk, Heppner and her team note in the journal BMC Medicine.

During a roundtable discussion at the Pentagon yesterday as part of "Brain Injury Awareness Month," Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree K. Sutton, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said more than 90 percent of servicemembers with TBI have concussions and recover quickly.

STUTTGART, Germany - The first step was to get a meeting with the village elder. After getting the OK from him, Dr. (Col.) Schuyler Geller brought in some of his medics to do an outreach operation in a small village in the impoverished African country of Mali.

The Army's Dr. Shad Deering and Maj. Amber Pocrnich talk about TeamSTEPPS™ and patient safety in a combat environment. TeamSTEPPS™ is an initiative of DoD's Patient Safety Program.

Today we hear from Dr. Shakir Jawad, former director general of health in Iraq. He now serves on the faculty of Uniformed Services University and as a member of the Office of International Health.

Former Army colonel Dr. Donald Burke talks about how his experience studying infectious diseases in the Army helped shape his successful and pioneering career in medicine.

t's been around since 2007, but the success of the Military Health System blog has surpassed expectations. Dr. Michael Kilpatrick is the Director of Military Health System Strategic Communications. He tells us that the importance of keeping in contact with members of the military and their families really can't be understated. He also says the blog helped make a lot of important information much more accessible to them.

Maj. (Dr) Vikhyat Bebarta, chief of medical toxicology and a staff emergency physician, is the recipient of the Best Basic Science Research Award, presented by the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), for his research on evaluating treatments for cyanide poisoning.

"Real Warriors is a program aimed at wiping out the stigma associated with getting mental health care in the military," said Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree Sutton. "We want people to seek help the same way they would if they had a physical wound." Sutton is a psychiatrist who heads the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Treatment for servicemembers suffering from psychological trauma really is a brave new world. Before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there was little research on effective treatments and not much pressure to add to what existed, said Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. Sutton, at a Warrior Resilience Conference here, said her office has been working with the services to develop treatment programs and is researching best medical practices. But the effort isn't a simple matter of an open checkbook; results count.

Casscells is using the MHS site to establish the criteria to select his He's polling members of the military health community for candidates, and using a dialogue in the site's Healthy Debates section, which asks readers to define the qualifications and expertise that Defense's next Top Doc should have.

A revolutionary robot mounted with a high-tech camera is helping physicians treat and save soldiers -- from just about any location in the world.