Campbell seeks help in addressing PTSD, TBI

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/10/ap-fort-campbell-seeks-hlep-addressing-ptsd-tbi-100212/

By Kristin M. Hall - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Oct 2, 2012 20:26:54 EDT

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. Fort Campbell is reaching out to the medical community in Kentucky to help address the challenges of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury among returning service members and veterans.

Experts from the militarys top behavioral health and brain injury research agencies came to the Army installation on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line Tuesday to teach civilian behavioral health professionals about the militarys current research and treatments into the invisible wounds that have become prevalent among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Col. Paul R. Cordts, the commander of Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell, Ky., noted that President Obama issued an executive order in August that directed ways to improve mental health care for troops within the military and veterans under the Department of Veterans Affairs.

We cannot do this alone on Fort Campbell, Cordts said. We depend on the community and we need your help in addressing these issues, especially around our mental health services.

Faced with rising suicide rates, the Army and Fort Campbell held suicide prevention and awareness training for all its units last week. The Army recorded 131 potential suicides through the first eight months of 2012, and locally there have been 12 confirmed or suspected suicides among Fort Campbell soldiers so far this year.

More than 253,000 troops have been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury since 2000, but a majority of those injuries did not occur during a deployment, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.

Eddie Reynolds, a family outreach coordinator with the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky in Louisville, said hes eager to learn about the militarys efforts to treat traumatic brain injury because both sides can benefit.

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Campbell seeks help in addressing PTSD, TBI