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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

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, more and more of our service men and women are experiencing both physical and emotional wounds. The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine and the Tug McGraw Foundation know that the pace at which scientific advancements are made can be accelerated through increased civilian/military partnerships. With the support of co-chairs Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Country United is a two-day event comprised of the Partnership for Military Medicine Symposium and the Country United Gala taking place on November 6 & 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. The symposium will highlight discoveries in military medicine and foster collaborations among military and civilian partners to further advance research and clinical care. The Country United Gala will recognize the efforts of medical researchers, clinicians, and educators, as well as friends of military medicine.

SAN DIEGO -A patient lies in a hospital bed surrounded by hospital staff doing a routine examination and suddenly his blood pressure plummets and his heart stops. Immediately, the staff fly into action to resuscitate the patient using all of their skills and training. This is all happening according to plan as an instructor watches and evaluates their reactions and abilities to utilize their training in a practical environment in the new Medical and Surgical Simulation Center (MSSC).

The National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD) aims to advance the clinical care and social welfare of U.S. Veterans through research, education and training on PTSD and stress-related disorders. This site is an educational resource on PTSD and traumatic stress, for veterans and also for mental health care providers, researchers and the general public.

Falls Church, Va. - The Department of Defense (DoD) is pleased to announce the successful launch of MiCare, the Military Health System's prototype personal health record (PHR) at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) in Tacoma, Wa. MiCare is designed to help members of the military and their families more easily and effectively manage their health and wellness, regardless of their location and as they seek care inside and beyond the Military Health System. MiCare developed as a pilot project in partnership with Microsoft Corp. and Google.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. The home page for the Department of Veterans Affairs provides links to veterans benefits and services, as well as information and resources for other Departmental programs and offices.

As celebrations and social gatherings begin to spring up during this holiday season, I would like to remind everyone to please be safe and responsible, especially on the road where many lives, not just your own, are at risk. December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month, an effort aimed to reduce the incidences of impaired driving accidents and deaths.

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.

The Military Health System is asking you to "Share Your Care" in a video contest that showcases the people, programs and facilities supporting the health of our service members and families! The Share Your Care contest, is open to all service members, their families and MHS personnel, and it runs Feb. 27 through March 30, 2009.

Doctor uses music's healing power PBS special titled "Healthy Minds," a 13-part educational series in its second season on New York's WLIW 21. The show will focus on how soldiers deal with post traumatic stress disorder and how military and medical personnel are helping alleviate it. The program will focus on music, and how it helps patients come to terms with their war memories and experiences. The doctor's poetry, another element inspired by her therapeutic sessions, will also be featured on the program.

Brig. Gen. Sutton participated in a roundtable to announce the opening of a new 24-hour outreach center, which will be open 365 days a year and is staffed by behavioral health consultants and nurses. This center will provide service members, veterans and their families a new resource for psychological health problems and traumatic brain injuries.

Posted by: S. Ward Casscells, M.D. Our work in Africa is not new. Historically, DoD has worked in Africa through either Central Command or through European Command, and only recently have we better aligned our efforts to the needs of the African nations by forming Africa Command. This new venture marks an opportunity to change the way we do business by sharing expertise with other U.S. governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. In order to support the new command surgeon, I am hosting an important conference called U.S. Africa Command: Health as a Bridge to Peace and Stability, January 8 and 9 at the Institute of Medicine here in Washington D.C.

Movement for Global Mental Health calls for scaling up treatments for mental disorders, for the human rights of those affected to be protected, and for more research in low- and middle-income countries. The range of activities and efforts by multidisciplinary health professionals allows us to make major strides. I heartily endorse this initiative and am committed to helping achieve the vision, spurred by the Movement, that this can be one of the great public health successes of our times.

The Military Health System will host a Web town hall on Nov. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern time on www.health.mil as part of the ongoing dialog between senior military leaders and service members and their families about the Defense Department's medical care programs and services for its wounded, ill and injured troops.

The offensive in southern Afghanistan hasn't come without its casualties for U.S. and NATO forces there. Stripes reporter Drew Brown tells us that over the last few weeks helicopter ambulance crews from the 2nd Platoon "Gypsies" of Company C, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade have pulled dozens of wounded - and sometimes dead - U.S., British and Afghan troops from the battlefield. Brown's dispatch takes you to the battlefield and safely back out again with a group of dedicated medevac crewmembers.

A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who entered a Veterans Affairs medical center in Kansas with a gun surrendered after trading his ammunition for cigarettes. VA spokesman James Gleisberg said the veteran arrived at Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka around noon Sunday. Gleisberg said the man then pulled out a gun and threatened to use it on himself. VA police and a SWAT team were called, but the man surrendered about 1:45 p.m. and is now being treated at the VA.

The Army has documented that the survival rate in ongoing conflicts is over 90%, the highest recorded in modern combat. This survival rate is the product of numerous innovations such as improvements in protective equipment, improvements in evacuation, improvements in the training of combat medics, and innovations in the medical equipment and techniques available at all levels of care from self/buddy aid, through field care given by medics and into hospital care delivered in theater and in the U.S.

Spc. Brendan Beely and Staff Sgt. Gabriel Wright of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR), a subcommand of U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC), recognized a problem, and invented a device for securing medical tubes and catheters intubated within a patient that will prevent damage to the incisors by locating separate bite blocks on the molars. It also helps to prevent pressure sores on patients' lips.

Bringing ideas and experience aplenty from the West Coast to the nation's capital, TRICARE's new deputy director can quickly and easily sum up TRICARE's importance to America's uniformed service members, retirees and their families. "When you join the military you're promised a comprehensive health care benefit," said Navy Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, the new deputy director of the TRICARE Management Activity. "We want to ensure it is available in all locations and over all the periods of life."

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.