FW: NCD released a report of health care provided to service members and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

More than 1.6 million American service members have deployed to Iraq and

Afghanistan in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring

Freedom (OEF). As of December 2008, more than 4,000 troops have been

killed and over 30,000 have returned from a combat zone with visible

wounds and a range of permanent disabilities. In addition, an estimated

25-40 percent have less visible wounds-psychological and neurological

injuries associated with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or

traumatic brain injury (TBI), which have been dubbed "signature

injuries" of the Iraq War.

 

 

 

On March 4, NCD released a report recommending changes in the continuum

of health care provided to service members and veterans with Post

Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The

report, Invisible Wounds: Serving Service Members and Veterans with PTSD

and TBI (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2009/veterans.doc),

addresses the experiences of service members and veterans at risk of

developing PTSD and TBI, and makes 10 recommendations that should result

in improvement.

 

 

 

According to NCD Chairperson John R. Vaughn, "The wars in Iraq and

Afghanistan are resulting in injuries that are disabling many service

members, and are potentially disabling for still more. These injuries

are also putting unprecedented strain on families and relationships:

strain that can contribute to the severity of the service member's

disability over the course of time."

 

 

 

"The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Administration (VA)

have initiated a number of improvements in the delivery of health care

for service members and veterans with PTSD and TBI. They are to be

congratulated for these efforts, but more needs to be done," Vaughn

concluded.