White River's VA hospital grows for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

White River's VA hospital grows for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

By Gregory Trotter
Valley News of Lebanon
Published: Wednesday, November 04, 2009
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. — The White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center is expanding and evolving to help a new generation of soldiers returning from war.

The first physical proof is the metal frame of the new office building, visible from Route 5, which will eventually house the Executive Division of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

After its slated March 2010 completion, the PTSD center will provide evidence-based research and expert access for VA hospital administrators and regional directors trying to stay abreast of the most effective ways to help soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The center will also inform the care at the White River facility, as more young men and women in military uniform begin to populate the campus.

“This is about meeting the needs of patients like this young man,” said Andy LaCasse, spokesman for the VA Medical Center, nodding toward a young soldier in full dress bustling past. “Until two years ago, the majority of our patients were World War II veterans but we’re going to start seeing more young people like him.”

There are about 4,000 veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraq Freedom in Vermont, according to a PTSD center news release. That number stands to increase after the National Guardsmen and others return. Vermont and New Hampshire will each have approximately 1,800 young men and women deploying by the end of the year.
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