Veterans’ advocate promotes PTSD site
By Mark Abramson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, October 20, 2008
Nearly four years after Tammy Duckworth lost her legs in Iraq, she is breaking new ground in her role as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.
As an Illinois National Guard major and former Black Hawk pilot, Duckworth is no stranger to the emotional and physical toll of war. She lost her legs when a rocket-propelled grenade hit her chopper in November 2004.
Duckworth, who spoke in Heidelberg, Germany, on Thursday about overcoming her disability, is credited with starting a program that helps veterans and servicemembers get help for post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. The program is called the Illinois Warrior Assistance Program, and its Web site, www.illinoiswarrior.com, can be accessed by anyone.
"It was something that I approached our governor about doing when I realized that many of our returning veterans had never been screened for post traumatic stress disorder or specifically the traumatic brain injury component of it," Duckworth said.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58264
Showing posts with label Illinois Warrior Assistance Program. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illinois Warrior Assistance Program. Show all posts
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Illinois Warrior Assistance Program helping National Guardsmen as Veterans
Warrior Assistance Program Screens Returning Soldiers for TBI and PTSD
Barbara Kois
Monday March 24, 2008
The new Illinois Warrior Assistance Program is the first program of its kind in the U.S. to mandate screening of all Illinois National Guard members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The free screening is available to all Illinois veterans. The program also provides 24-hour toll-free confidential psychological counseling for any veteran who may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Veterans' family members also can call the hotline.
The hotline is manned by master's level licensed clinicians, including some veterans, who are trained to administer the screening tool. Screening also can be conducted in all of the 51 Veteran Service Offices in the state by 73 Veteran Service officers — state employees who were trained extensively by clinicians from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Felise Zollman, MD, the medical director of the Brain Injury Medicine and Rehabilitation Program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, was involved in devising the tool and the training for it.
"The screen was designed to be very sensitive and cast a wide net to identify any potential cases of brain injury so the person can go to a doctor for a definitive assessment. It can be administered in 10 minutes, much as one might get a blood pressure screening at a health fair," Zollman said. "Because many of the symptoms of brain injury are similar to those of PTSD, we can tell the person that it doesn't look like brain injury, but it might be a good idea to get a further assessment to see if PTSD is causing the symptoms."
click post title for the rest
Barbara Kois
Monday March 24, 2008
The new Illinois Warrior Assistance Program is the first program of its kind in the U.S. to mandate screening of all Illinois National Guard members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The free screening is available to all Illinois veterans. The program also provides 24-hour toll-free confidential psychological counseling for any veteran who may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Veterans' family members also can call the hotline.
The hotline is manned by master's level licensed clinicians, including some veterans, who are trained to administer the screening tool. Screening also can be conducted in all of the 51 Veteran Service Offices in the state by 73 Veteran Service officers — state employees who were trained extensively by clinicians from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Felise Zollman, MD, the medical director of the Brain Injury Medicine and Rehabilitation Program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, was involved in devising the tool and the training for it.
"The screen was designed to be very sensitive and cast a wide net to identify any potential cases of brain injury so the person can go to a doctor for a definitive assessment. It can be administered in 10 minutes, much as one might get a blood pressure screening at a health fair," Zollman said. "Because many of the symptoms of brain injury are similar to those of PTSD, we can tell the person that it doesn't look like brain injury, but it might be a good idea to get a further assessment to see if PTSD is causing the symptoms."
click post title for the rest
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