New programs for combat PTSD conflict with scarcity of personnel

Psychiatrists on point back home
New programs conflict with scarcity of personnel
Jun 15, 2012
Written by
Philip Grey
Leaf-Chronicle

At Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell, Lt. Col. Marla Hemphill and Maj. Joe Wise are psychiatrists manning the frontlines of the Army's war against suicide, PTSD and other behavioral health problems. / LEAF-CHRONICLE/PHILIP GREY

FORT CAMPBELL, KY. — While the Army anticipates a considerable shrinkage of resources and personnel in coming years, at least one aspect of Army operations is expected to grow rapidly, out of sheer necessity.

Due to an increasing and acknowledged need, resources aimed at addressing a host of problems coming under the term, “behavioral health,” are the big news at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital in 2012.

As a result, Lt. Col. Marla Hemphill, chief of the Department of Behavioral Health at BACH, and Maj. Joe Wise, chief of Adult Behavioral Health – both on the frontline of a vast new frontier of military medicine – are looking forward to getting some new troops to man that line.

Meanwhile, they have to manage being at the center of issues that are complex and contentious, while operating under a microscope due to the high visibility of the issues involved.
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