After 5 suicide attempts Veteran with PTSD and TBI saved by center facing closure

Clinic treating Oklahoma veterans for PTSD in danger of closing
Patriot Clinic officials say they will be forced to close if they don't raise funds quickly
KOCO News
By Erielle Reshef
Jul 25, 2014

OKLAHOMA CITY —A center that uses a hyperbaric chamber to treat Oklahoma veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries is out of money.

Patriot Clinic officials said Friday that if they don’t raise funds quickly, they will be forced to close the center’s doors.

Chris Gregg, director of the clinic, served two tours of duty.

“I was in the first Gulf War; disarmed explosives,” he said. “I was EOD, landmines, package bombs, car bombs that type of thing.”

The horrors of war have haunted him ever since, taking a dramatic toll.

“I've been hospitalized five times for (attempted) suicide,” he said.

After receiving hyperbaric therapy at the Patriot Clinic in southwest Oklahoma City, he said, it changed his outlook and eased the emotional trauma.

“I was alive a couple months ago. I wasn't living at all, you know?” he said. “The fact that I'm able to enjoy my daughters – it's a big difference.”
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Warning:Video includes combat footage on explosions.
Published on Jul 4, 2012
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Stroke and Concussions. Includes Doctor and Patient Testimonials.

VA admits 18 veterans commit suicide each day

Last year Veterans for Common Sense already found out how many we were having to bury after combat for them was over. The problem is, this battle they were fighting on their own, alone and forgotten by the rest of the American people. Too many want to believe that after we send them off our duty is done unless they come home in a coffin covered with an American flag. The truth is, our duty to them just begins and is our duty for the rest of their lives to take care of them.

18 veterans commit suicide each day

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 22, 2010 15:40:18 EDT

Troubling new data show there are an average of 950 suicide attempts each month by veterans who are receiving some type of treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department.

Seven percent of the attempts are successful, and 11 percent of those who don’t succeed on the first attempt try again within nine months.

The numbers, which come at a time when VA is strengthening its suicide prevention programs, show about 18 veteran suicides a day, about five by veterans who are receiving VA care.

Access to care appears to be a key factor, officials said, noting that once a veteran is inside the VA care program, screening programs are in place to identify those with problems, and special efforts are made to track those considered at high risk, such as monitoring whether they are keeping appointments.
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18 veterans commit suicide each day

Suicide Attempts for Vets Jump 500% in Five Years, and Government Ignores It

Editorial Column: Suicide Attempts for Vets Jump 500% in Five Years, and Government Ignores It

Penny Coleman


Alternet

Sep 12, 2008

September 11, 2008 - This year, in recognition of National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 7-13), the Army chose the theme "Shoulder-to-Shoulder: No Soldier Stands Alone," "to emphasize the strength of the Army Family when it works together to tackle tough problems."

It has not been a good week for the Army Family in spite of the special attention.

On Sept. 8, an altercation between a 22-year-old Fort Hood soldier and his commanding officer, a 24-year-old lieutenant, ended when the soldier first shot and killed his officer and then turned his gun on himself. Both were assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, which had returned from a 15-month tour in Iraq in December. The division is currently in training to redeploy back to Iraq this winter for another 12 months -- which in all probability will turn out to be the as good an explanation as any for the tragedy.

Then on Sept. 9, a VA report acknowledged that suicide rates for young male Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans hit a record high in 2006, the last year for which official records are available. Last week, the Portland Tribune reported that in 2005, the last year for which complete Oregon data has been compiled, 19 Oregon soldiers died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. That same year, 153 Oregon veterans of all ages, serving in various wars, committed suicide.

After five years of war in Iraq, Marine suicides doubled between 2006 and 2007, and Army suicides are at the highest level since records were first kept in 1980. Reported suicide attempts jumped 500 percent between 2002 and 2007.
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http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11150