Guard's road show puts focus on post-traumatic stress
By ZACH BENOIT
Of The Gazette Staff
In an effort to increase awareness and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in military personnel returning from combat, the Montana National Guard has been holding a series of public presentations in 20 communities across the state.
At St. Vincent Healthcare's Marillac Auditorium on Wednesday night, the Guard presented resources and information on PTSD and talked about what people can do to help those afflicted with it.
"If you understand what the signs and symptoms are and you know somebody who may be suffering, you can refer them to get help," Col. Jeffrey Ireland said. Ireland is the director of personnel and manpower for the Montana National Guard.
PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can occur after someone experiences or witnesses traumatic events. Many returning soldiers develop PTSD, and it often goes untreated. Efforts to increase awareness of PTSD in Montana began after the suicide of Guardsmen Christopher Dana of Helena in March 2007. He had been home from duty in Iraq for 16 months when he shot himself. Family members said he was suffering from PTSD.
After Dana's death, the Guard and state officials vowed to re-evaluate PTSD treatment in Montana and work to prevent more such tragedies, said John Allen, a Montana Air National Guard chaplain from Great Falls.
"The governor appointed a task force to look into it," he said. "The National Guard also appointed a working group to find out about the processes we go through to see if there's any way we can do a better job."
Studies and evaluations determined that the Montana Guard was meeting or exceeding the basic requirements for returning soldiers and airmen, but Guard officials wanted to do more.
It took a number of steps to aid in recognizing and treating PTSD. In every other state, troops undergo a post-deployment assessment within 90 to 180 days of returning. Montana standards now include more frequent and longer monitoring for up to two years.
"Those that come back don't develop PTSD right away," Ireland said. "We don't want to let anyone slip through."
Crisis response teams in Helena and Great Falls were created, the Guard mandated enrollment into the Veterans Affairs system upon returning from duty, created suicide prevention and PTSD training programs, beefed up reintegration programs to help troops return to daily life and expanded family resource centers across the state to aid military members and their families.
"We've accomplished a tremendous amount of things in the last few months," Ireland said. He added that the Montana National Guard has become a leader in diagnosing and treating PTSD.
At the presentation, Ireland showed a DVD produced by the Montana National Guard called "Picking Up the Pieces. Operation Outreach: A Community Effort." The DVD details the effects of PTSD on service members and their families. It includes detailed interviews with several Guardsmen who have undergone or are in treatment for PTSD. It also includes interviews with Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother. Ireland said the Montana National Guard hopes to use the video to help returning soldiers and airmen and increase community awareness.
"We are very proud of this," he said. "It's so useful in sending a message to service members and the community. We use it to tell our story."
Ireland said one of the most important steps in treating PTSD is erasing the stigma often associated with seeking treatment.
"We have so many that are reluctant to step forward because they're afraid of seeming weak," he said. "But we treat it as we would any other battle injury."
Presentations on PTSD by the Montana National Guard will be tonight at 7 in Malta, Miles City, Livingston and Missoula. On May 28, they will be in Helena and Butte and in Great Falls and Belgrade on May 29, all at 7 p.m.
Published on Thursday, May 22, 2008.
Last modified on 5/22/2008 at 1:19 am
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/22/news/local/38-ptsd.txt
Showing posts with label Montana National Guard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montana National Guard. Show all posts
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
U.S. must battle against stigma of mental war wounds
Gazette Opinion: U.S. must battle against stigma of mental war wounds
If the Department of Defense were to label right-arm injuries suffered in combat as "pre-existing" medical conditions that don't qualify for government-paid treatment, Americans would be outraged. If Pentagon policy discouraged military members from disclosing to medical professionals that they had asthma, the public would be appalled and soldiers' health would be at risk.
Yet those absurd scenarios are similar to what thousands of U.S. military members and veterans have experienced in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Although this disorder is the result of combat duty, many have been diagnosed by the military system with "personality disorder," a condition that would predate their military service and not be eligible for Veterans Administration care. Military culture and bureaucracy have penalized members identified as having had a mental illness. "Don't tell, suffer alone" is the dangerous message that has been given.
Discrimination must end
This discrimination against military members with PTSD must end. A third of U.S. troops who served in Iraq or Afghanistan come home with traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental-health problems, according to a Rand Corp. study. That's hundreds of thousands of Americans who need timely treatment and deserve the respect of the nation they have served.
Montanans can be proud that our National Guard has become a leader in recognizing the vital importance of diagnosing PTSD and reaching out to all returning Guardsmen to offer more thorough education, screening and treatment. Montana standards were raised in response to the tragic death of a Helena Guardsman who served in combat, returned home with classic PTSD symptoms but didn't get needed treatment, and died by suicide.
As part of the ongoing outreach, starting Monday, the Montana National Guard will conduct community presentations of its "Picking up the Pieces" DVD along with a short presentation on PTSD in 20 communities that host a National Guard Armory.
"We're trying to raise awareness," said Capt. Jeremy Hedges, who is based in Helena and serves on the PTSD working group. "We're reaching out to the community."
Finally, the U.S. Department of Defense is starting to gain awareness. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently has been urging troops to seek treatment instead of trying to ignore the problem.
"You're tough and you go into the hospital when you receive a physical wound," Gates said on a visit to a Texas Army post. "That doesn't mean you're weak in some way, and so why wouldn't you when you've received a psychological wound? It's the same difference. They're all wounded."
To make it easier for soldiers to seek treatment, Gates has announced a change on the application for a government security clearance that asks: In the last seven years, have you sought mental-health counseling? That question will no longer be asked. National Public Radio reported that studies show that the fear of losing a security clearance is one of the biggest reasons that combat veterans do not seek mental-health care.
Under the new policy, applicants who seek mental-health treatment could still obtain clearances if the treatment was for problems stemming from service in a combat zone.
Earlier this month, the American Forces Press Service reported that Gates is willing to consider awarding Purple Heart medals to combat veterans suffering with PTSD.
John E. Fortunato, who runs the Recovery and Resilience Center at Fort Bliss, Texas, told reporters that awarding the Purple Heart to PTSD sufferers would go a long way toward chipping away at prejudices surrounding the disease. Because PTSD affects structures in the brain, it's a physical disorder, "no different from shrapnel," Fortunato said. "This is an injury."
Wrongly classified
The Army classifies PTSD as an illness, not an injury, so troops with PTSD don't qualify for the Purple Heart, which is awarded to troops killed or wounded in combat.
A Purple Heart for a PTSD combat veteran would both lift up a worthy individual and tear down a dangerous stigma. PTSD is a real injury that can be more painful, more debilitating and longer lasting than a bleeding wound. The Pentagon and the American public ought to recognize this brain injury that has afflicted an estimated 300,000 Americans who have helped fight the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They deserve the respect a Purple Heart would confer.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/18/opinion/gazette/20-gazetteopinion.txt
I hope they forgive me for posting the whole thing but it is too important to just cut out parts of it. PTSD is a wound. For the millionth time, trauma is Greek for wound! It is not an illness. They called it an illness because it happens inside the body where no one can see it. This is a wound. It is not caused from the inside but penetrates it's way in.
If the Department of Defense were to label right-arm injuries suffered in combat as "pre-existing" medical conditions that don't qualify for government-paid treatment, Americans would be outraged. If Pentagon policy discouraged military members from disclosing to medical professionals that they had asthma, the public would be appalled and soldiers' health would be at risk.
Yet those absurd scenarios are similar to what thousands of U.S. military members and veterans have experienced in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Although this disorder is the result of combat duty, many have been diagnosed by the military system with "personality disorder," a condition that would predate their military service and not be eligible for Veterans Administration care. Military culture and bureaucracy have penalized members identified as having had a mental illness. "Don't tell, suffer alone" is the dangerous message that has been given.
Discrimination must end
This discrimination against military members with PTSD must end. A third of U.S. troops who served in Iraq or Afghanistan come home with traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental-health problems, according to a Rand Corp. study. That's hundreds of thousands of Americans who need timely treatment and deserve the respect of the nation they have served.
Montanans can be proud that our National Guard has become a leader in recognizing the vital importance of diagnosing PTSD and reaching out to all returning Guardsmen to offer more thorough education, screening and treatment. Montana standards were raised in response to the tragic death of a Helena Guardsman who served in combat, returned home with classic PTSD symptoms but didn't get needed treatment, and died by suicide.
As part of the ongoing outreach, starting Monday, the Montana National Guard will conduct community presentations of its "Picking up the Pieces" DVD along with a short presentation on PTSD in 20 communities that host a National Guard Armory.
"We're trying to raise awareness," said Capt. Jeremy Hedges, who is based in Helena and serves on the PTSD working group. "We're reaching out to the community."
Finally, the U.S. Department of Defense is starting to gain awareness. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently has been urging troops to seek treatment instead of trying to ignore the problem.
"You're tough and you go into the hospital when you receive a physical wound," Gates said on a visit to a Texas Army post. "That doesn't mean you're weak in some way, and so why wouldn't you when you've received a psychological wound? It's the same difference. They're all wounded."
To make it easier for soldiers to seek treatment, Gates has announced a change on the application for a government security clearance that asks: In the last seven years, have you sought mental-health counseling? That question will no longer be asked. National Public Radio reported that studies show that the fear of losing a security clearance is one of the biggest reasons that combat veterans do not seek mental-health care.
Under the new policy, applicants who seek mental-health treatment could still obtain clearances if the treatment was for problems stemming from service in a combat zone.
Earlier this month, the American Forces Press Service reported that Gates is willing to consider awarding Purple Heart medals to combat veterans suffering with PTSD.
John E. Fortunato, who runs the Recovery and Resilience Center at Fort Bliss, Texas, told reporters that awarding the Purple Heart to PTSD sufferers would go a long way toward chipping away at prejudices surrounding the disease. Because PTSD affects structures in the brain, it's a physical disorder, "no different from shrapnel," Fortunato said. "This is an injury."
Wrongly classified
The Army classifies PTSD as an illness, not an injury, so troops with PTSD don't qualify for the Purple Heart, which is awarded to troops killed or wounded in combat.
A Purple Heart for a PTSD combat veteran would both lift up a worthy individual and tear down a dangerous stigma. PTSD is a real injury that can be more painful, more debilitating and longer lasting than a bleeding wound. The Pentagon and the American public ought to recognize this brain injury that has afflicted an estimated 300,000 Americans who have helped fight the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They deserve the respect a Purple Heart would confer.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/18/opinion/gazette/20-gazetteopinion.txt
I hope they forgive me for posting the whole thing but it is too important to just cut out parts of it. PTSD is a wound. For the millionth time, trauma is Greek for wound! It is not an illness. They called it an illness because it happens inside the body where no one can see it. This is a wound. It is not caused from the inside but penetrates it's way in.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Montana Guard to hold PTSD public meetings
Montana Guard to hold PTSD public meetings
Posted on May 16
HELENA - The Montana National Guard will have public meetings throughout state in May to discuss Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the steps it has taken to help returning and deploying soldiers and airmen of the Montana Guard.
The meetings will take place during the week of May 19. Four separate teams of
soldiers and airmen will conduct the meetings, according to Col. Jeff Ireland, director of personnel and manpower for the guard.
"We want to take this information to the people of Montana so that they understand what
PTSD is and what they can do to help their friends, neighbors or relatives that may be affected by it," he explained.
The meetings will run from 7 to 8 p.m. on the following dates in western Montana:
May 19, Libby, National Guard Armory, 1004 Treasure Ave.; Dillon, National Guard Armory, 1070 Highway 41 N.
May 20, Kalispell Armed Forces Reserve Center, 2989 Highway 93 N.
May 21, Hamilton, National Guard Armory, 910 W. Main St.
May 22, Missoula, National Guard Armory, 2501 S. Reserve.
"The Montana National Guard is dedicated to ensuring that all Montana's soldiers and airmen are taken care of before, during and after a deployment in support of our state and nation," Ireland said. "Our efforts are to reach out to the people of this state and get their help."
The meetings schedule will include the viewing of a 30-minute video about PTSD and its impact on service members and their families. In addition, a question-and-answer period will be included to get feedback from attendees.
The public is encouraged and invited to attend the meetings.
For more information: Capt. Jeremy Hedges, 406-324-3986, or the "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" campaign http://www.montanaguard.com.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/05/16/bnews/br84.txt
Posted on May 16
HELENA - The Montana National Guard will have public meetings throughout state in May to discuss Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the steps it has taken to help returning and deploying soldiers and airmen of the Montana Guard.
The meetings will take place during the week of May 19. Four separate teams of
soldiers and airmen will conduct the meetings, according to Col. Jeff Ireland, director of personnel and manpower for the guard.
"We want to take this information to the people of Montana so that they understand what
PTSD is and what they can do to help their friends, neighbors or relatives that may be affected by it," he explained.
The meetings will run from 7 to 8 p.m. on the following dates in western Montana:
May 19, Libby, National Guard Armory, 1004 Treasure Ave.; Dillon, National Guard Armory, 1070 Highway 41 N.
May 20, Kalispell Armed Forces Reserve Center, 2989 Highway 93 N.
May 21, Hamilton, National Guard Armory, 910 W. Main St.
May 22, Missoula, National Guard Armory, 2501 S. Reserve.
"The Montana National Guard is dedicated to ensuring that all Montana's soldiers and airmen are taken care of before, during and after a deployment in support of our state and nation," Ireland said. "Our efforts are to reach out to the people of this state and get their help."
The meetings schedule will include the viewing of a 30-minute video about PTSD and its impact on service members and their families. In addition, a question-and-answer period will be included to get feedback from attendees.
The public is encouraged and invited to attend the meetings.
For more information: Capt. Jeremy Hedges, 406-324-3986, or the "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" campaign http://www.montanaguard.com.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/05/16/bnews/br84.txt
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Suicide death of Spc. Chris Dana causes change in Montana National Guard
Montana Guard confronts post-combat stress head-on in wake of suicide
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor
HELENA — Montana's National Guard is becoming a model of how to help service members adjust to post-combat stress.
"Montana has gone beyond the level of other states in the country, and I applaud that," said Capt. Joan Hunter, a U.S. Public Service officer who was recently designated the director of psychological health for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C.
"They saw an emergency need, studied the problems and make some significant improvements," Hunter said Friday.
State Adjutant General Randy Mosley said that the effort stems from a former Montana soldier who didn't get the help he needed and who killed himself a year ago.
"We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our people and their families pick up the pieces for the problems that may have begun during their deployment in Iraq," Mosley said last week.
"The Guard has done an unbelievable job in changing," said Matt Kuntz, a Helena attorney and stepbrother of the late Spc. Chris Dana, who killed himself March 4, 2007. At the time, Dana was having trouble handling weekend drills after returning from combat in Iraq. He was given a less-than-honorable discharge and then shot himself a few days later.
"It takes a lot for a big organization that does a lot of things right to look for what they did wrong and address those flaws," Kuntz said. "I'm really impressed with what they've done."
click post title for more
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor
HELENA — Montana's National Guard is becoming a model of how to help service members adjust to post-combat stress.
"Montana has gone beyond the level of other states in the country, and I applaud that," said Capt. Joan Hunter, a U.S. Public Service officer who was recently designated the director of psychological health for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C.
"They saw an emergency need, studied the problems and make some significant improvements," Hunter said Friday.
State Adjutant General Randy Mosley said that the effort stems from a former Montana soldier who didn't get the help he needed and who killed himself a year ago.
"We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our people and their families pick up the pieces for the problems that may have begun during their deployment in Iraq," Mosley said last week.
"The Guard has done an unbelievable job in changing," said Matt Kuntz, a Helena attorney and stepbrother of the late Spc. Chris Dana, who killed himself March 4, 2007. At the time, Dana was having trouble handling weekend drills after returning from combat in Iraq. He was given a less-than-honorable discharge and then shot himself a few days later.
"It takes a lot for a big organization that does a lot of things right to look for what they did wrong and address those flaws," Kuntz said. "I'm really impressed with what they've done."
click post title for more
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
What They Found in the Wastebasket
January 01, 2008
What They Found in the Wastebasket
The McClatchy newspapers continue their great series about whether and how the VA system is serving, or under-serving, returning combat veterans with PTSD.
In their recent story, "Suicide Shocks Montana into Assessing Veteran's Care," which by the way is an excellent fact-filled article, there is this troubling mention about what Chris Dana's dad found in his wastebasket, after Chris shot himself last March. Let's let the McClatchy papers tell the story:
HELENA, Mont. — Chris Dana came home from the war in Iraq in 2005 and slipped into a mental abyss so quietly that neither his family nor the Montana Army National Guard noticed.He returned to his former life: a job at a Target store, nights in a trailer across the road from his father's house. When he started to isolate himself, missing family events and football games, his father urged him to get counseling. When the National Guard called his father to say that he'd missed weekend duty, Gary Dana pushed his son to get in touch with his unit. "I can't go back. I can't do it," Chris Dana responded.
go here for the rest
http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/2008/01/the-increasing.html
Friday, December 28, 2007
Suicide of Spec. Chris Dana causes Montana to change
''The federal government does a remarkable job of converting a citizen to a warrior,'' said Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat. ''I think they have an equal responsibility converting a warrior back to a citizen.''
Suicide shocks Montana into assessing vets' care
Chris Adams
December 28, 2007 1:25 PM
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
HELENA, Mont. - Chris Dana came home from the war in Iraq in 2005 and slipped into a mental abyss so quietly that neither his family nor the Montana Army National Guard noticed.
He returned to his former life: a job at a Target store, nights in a trailer across the road from his father's house.
When he started to isolate himself, missing family events and football games, his father urged him to get counseling. When the National Guard called his father to say that he'd missed weekend duty, Gary Dana pushed his son to get in touch with his unit.
''I can't go back. I can't do it,'' Chris Dana responded.
Things went downhill from there. He blew though all his money, and last March 4, he shot himself in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. He was 23 years old.
As Gary Dana was collecting his dead son's belongings, he found a letter indicating that the National Guard was discharging his son under what are known as other-than-honorable conditions. The move was due to his skipping drills, which his family said was brought on by the mental strain of his service in Iraq.
The letter was in the trash, near a Wal-Mart receipt for .22-caliber rifle shells.
All across America, veterans such as Chris Dana are slipping through the cracks, left to languish by their military units and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA's ability to provide adequate care for veterans with mental ailments has come under increasing scrutiny, and the agency says it's scrambling to boost its resources to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder, prevent suicides and help veterans cope. It's added more mental health counselors and started more suicide-prevention programs.
But the experience in Montana, which by some measures does more than any other state to support America's wars, shows how far the military and the VA have to go.
click post title for the rest
Linked from ICasualties.org
Also on this
Suicide shocks Montana into assessing vets' care
Chris Adams
December 28, 2007 1:25 PM
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
HELENA, Mont. - Chris Dana came home from the war in Iraq in 2005 and slipped into a mental abyss so quietly that neither his family nor the Montana Army National Guard noticed.
He returned to his former life: a job at a Target store, nights in a trailer across the road from his father's house.
When he started to isolate himself, missing family events and football games, his father urged him to get counseling. When the National Guard called his father to say that he'd missed weekend duty, Gary Dana pushed his son to get in touch with his unit.
''I can't go back. I can't do it,'' Chris Dana responded.
Things went downhill from there. He blew though all his money, and last March 4, he shot himself in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. He was 23 years old.
As Gary Dana was collecting his dead son's belongings, he found a letter indicating that the National Guard was discharging his son under what are known as other-than-honorable conditions. The move was due to his skipping drills, which his family said was brought on by the mental strain of his service in Iraq.
The letter was in the trash, near a Wal-Mart receipt for .22-caliber rifle shells.
All across America, veterans such as Chris Dana are slipping through the cracks, left to languish by their military units and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA's ability to provide adequate care for veterans with mental ailments has come under increasing scrutiny, and the agency says it's scrambling to boost its resources to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder, prevent suicides and help veterans cope. It's added more mental health counselors and started more suicide-prevention programs.
But the experience in Montana, which by some measures does more than any other state to support America's wars, shows how far the military and the VA have to go.
click post title for the rest
Linked from ICasualties.org
Also on this
When the battalion's tour of duty ended in late 2005 after 18 months away from home, Specialist Dana was rapidly processed through Department of Defense demobilization facilities to expedite his return home and reintegration into civilian environment. This expedited approach is standard operational procedure for Reserve Component (National Guard and Reserve) units whose tour of duty supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom has ended.
However. Chris Dana's suicide-as well as the many others that have occurred nationwide in the aftermath of National Guard and Reserve combat veterans' return to mainstream civilian life-has prompted Montana's critical assessment of the PDHRA program's effectiveness in reintegrating combat veterans into civilian society.
go here for the rest
http://dma.mt.gov/mvad/documents/PDHRA.pdf
Friday, September 21, 2007
TriWest And Montana Veterans Administration Launch PTSD Video Conference
TriWest And Montana Veterans Administration Launch PTSD Video Conference To Reach Rural Health Care Providers
Published 09-21-2007
Community providers learn to recognize combat stress symptoms in returning troops
PHOENIX,AZ (CompNewsNetwork) - As part of their continuing efforts to address the needs of returning Guard members, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the Department of Defense's TRICARE contractor in Montana and the VA Montana Health Care System have partnered to launch the first Combat Stress Video Conference. The conference, being held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2007, will bring together nearly 150 community-based health care providers that care for the thousands of returning Montana National Guard troops throughout the state.
The conference will be broadcast simultaneously to providers in nine locations including Billings, Culbertson, Glasgow, Glendive, Great Falls, Havre, Helena, Kalispell and Lewistown. It is intended to help rural providers identify deployment-related symptoms such as combat stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD and traumatic brain injury, as well as providing treatment methods.
The Montana National Guard consists of more than 3,700 members who live in nearly every corner of the state. Since 2001, more than 80 percent have been mobilized for active duty.
"Family practitioners and community-based health care providers are integral in helping Montana's returning National Guard troops cope with the emotional and mental health issues resulting from serving in combat," explained David J. McIntyre, President and Chief Executive Officer of TriWest Healthcare Alliance. "This video conference is the first of its kind to combine the resources of the VA and TriWest to reach rural providers caring for these service members as they reintegrate into mainstream civilian life."
"The onset of emotional or mental health symptoms is unpredictable.
click post title for the rest
Published 09-21-2007
Community providers learn to recognize combat stress symptoms in returning troops
PHOENIX,AZ (CompNewsNetwork) - As part of their continuing efforts to address the needs of returning Guard members, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the Department of Defense's TRICARE contractor in Montana and the VA Montana Health Care System have partnered to launch the first Combat Stress Video Conference. The conference, being held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2007, will bring together nearly 150 community-based health care providers that care for the thousands of returning Montana National Guard troops throughout the state.
The conference will be broadcast simultaneously to providers in nine locations including Billings, Culbertson, Glasgow, Glendive, Great Falls, Havre, Helena, Kalispell and Lewistown. It is intended to help rural providers identify deployment-related symptoms such as combat stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD and traumatic brain injury, as well as providing treatment methods.
The Montana National Guard consists of more than 3,700 members who live in nearly every corner of the state. Since 2001, more than 80 percent have been mobilized for active duty.
"Family practitioners and community-based health care providers are integral in helping Montana's returning National Guard troops cope with the emotional and mental health issues resulting from serving in combat," explained David J. McIntyre, President and Chief Executive Officer of TriWest Healthcare Alliance. "This video conference is the first of its kind to combine the resources of the VA and TriWest to reach rural providers caring for these service members as they reintegrate into mainstream civilian life."
"The onset of emotional or mental health symptoms is unpredictable.
click post title for the rest
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