| Welcome  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. That’s about the same number of people who live in the city of Philadelphia. With that many people affected each year, it’s important that we take some time to understand what a TBI is – know its signs and symptoms – so that we can prevent these injuries from affecting our lives more than necessary. And there’s perhaps no better time than March, which the Military Health System recognizes as Brain Injury Awareness Month.
I’m sure you have read or heard about service members who have sustained TBIs in service to the nation. The improvised explosive devices, suicide bombers, land mines, mortar rounds, and rocket-propelled grenades that they encounter on the battlefield put them at an increased risk for these injuries. But service members remain at risk for TBI off the battlefield, too. Training exercises, contact sports, and recreational activities including motorcycle riding and mountain climbing, all increase your risk of sustaining a TBI. This is important because, naturally, service members don’t make up that entire 1.4 million Americans affected by TBI each year. Everyone in our military community, including retirees, veterans, and family members should be aware of the signs and symptoms of a brain injury. These injuries can be difficult to diagnose and can often go unrecognized. For service members, the Department of Defense has established system-wide screening and assessment procedures acknowledged by the Institute of Medicine to recognize the symptoms of TBI and encourage accurate diagnoses. Some of our NATO allies have been adapting our in-theater tools and initiatives that have enhanced our recognition and management of concussion. If service members have appropriate evaluations following exposure to blast or trauma, and have periodic consultations, and if they have completed the Post-Deployment Health Assessments, medical providers will be in a better position to recognize the symptoms, make an accurate diagnosis, and get that service member the care he or she deserves through our system of care coordination. Awareness and education of traumatic brain injury is a priority. In addition to providing training to DoD and VA clinicians, we have developed award-winning educational materials for patients and families for the entire spectrum of concussion and traumatic brain injury. Whether you wear a military uniform or not, please take time this month to learn about the importance of prevention, the signs and symptoms of TBI, and to take action if you or someone you know could be suffering. Enjoy this issue of MHS Vital Signs! Col. Michael S. Jaffee, M.D., USAF, MC, FS
National Director, Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center March Is Brain Injury Awareness Month  The Military Health System recognizes March as Brain Injury Awareness Month and wants to provide all service members, retirees, veterans, and their families with information on these types of injuries. Please use the link below to learn more about brain injuries, and please continue to visit health.mil throughout the month as we feature more brain injury content. Learn more Military Leads Mental Health Care Transformation The United States is in the middle of a “cultural transformation” in mental health treatment led by the Department of Defense and the military services, the department’s top mental health expert recently told a congressional panel. Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, testified along with Dr. Ira Katz, chief of the Veterans Affairs Department's mental health services, during a committee hearing on suicide prevention. In 2009, there were 312 confirmed suicides among service members, of which 26 were in the reserve components, according to the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Sutton said in testimony submitted to the committee. The data shows those particularly at risk were white men younger than 25, with a rank at or below E-4 who were divorced and had not graduated from high school. Other common factors, as mirrored in the private sector, included substance abuse, relationships, legal, or financial problems. Read more New Health.mil Makes Information More Accessible The Military Health System has launched a redesigned health.mil Web site that provides a single point of entry to military health news, information, and resources. The site is part of the Defense Department's continued commitment to make health information available and easy to find, officials said. Content is categorized by topic or audience, including service members, retirees, and families; health care providers; educators and researchers; Military Health System staff; Defense Department leaders; and the media. "We've listened to the feedback from our users and redesigned the site to make it better –easier to navigate and easier to find information," said Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, director of strategic communications for the Military Health System. "The new health.mil is better organized, better looking, and more seamlessly integrated with our social media efforts." Read more Warrior Care Spotlight:
DCoE and the NFL Spread the Message About Concussions  What do warriors and professional football players have in common? Both are susceptible to sustaining concussions – whether in theater or on the gridiron. And both are sometimes reluctant to seek treatment for fear of being seen as weak or forced to sit out of the action to recover. DCoE Director Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton and Marine Sgt. Josh Hopper of DCoE's Real Warriors Campaign traveled to the Super Bowl Media Day last month to promote our newest relationship with pro football. Real Warriors has joined forces with the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI) and the University of Michigan Depression Center to break the stigma among service members and NFL players in seeking treatment for concussions. While at the Super Bowl, Sutton, SLI founder and President Chris Nowinski, and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler appeared on more than half a dozen sports talk radio programs to spread the message to service members and football players that seeking treatment for concussions is an act of courage and strength – not a sign of weakness. Read more The MHS Celebrates the 100th Episode of Dot Mil Docs!  On the 100th Dot Mil Docs Podcast: Dr. James Kelly, director of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, discussed concussions: their signs and symptoms, treatment methods, and how the DoD screens service members for them. Listen to Dot Mil Docs 100
National Resource Directory Provides Helpful Resources to the Military Community The military community has a newly redesigned directory to access critical resources and information. The National Resource Directory provides easy access to resources for wounded warriors, veterans, their families, and their caregivers. All organizations listed support a mission to provide world-class quality care and services to military and veteran communities. The directory’s resources and content are updated and reviewed regularly by a highly skilled team including subject matter experts and veterans. New features of the redesign include a faster, more accurate search engine, bookmark and share capabilities to spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites, and an “In the News” feature that provides links to news and updates in the wounded warrior and veteran community. Visit the NRD at www.NationalResourceDirectory.gov and sign up for e-mail updates to hear about new content, events, and features. Receive Your Free Subscription to U.S. Medicine! Keep informed on the federal health care market by receiving a free subscription to U.S. Medicine. U.S. Medicine serves health care professionals working in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and U.S. Public Health Service. Each month U.S. Medicine provides federal physicians, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and administrators with news, medical updates, interviews, reports on special government topics and monthly columns. This is information vital to your career in federal medicine! To start your free subscription, please click here. Research Roundup  Research, medical publications and articles from peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals are a vital part of the Military Health System. Each month, MHS Vital Signs highlights notable research being conducted by the MHS and its counterparts. Analysis Program Focuses on Preventing Combat Injuries  Every time a service member is killed or wounded in combat, it sets off a sweeping process aimed at identifying what happened, who perpetrated it and how it might have been prevented – and instituting changes to reduce the likelihood of it being repeated. The Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat Program brings together experts within the Defense Department’s medical, operational, intelligence and material development communities, who analyze each casualty to glean life-saving lessons, explained Army Lt. Col. Mark Dick, the program manager. They study autopsy information, pore over after-action reports and medical files, assess vehicle damage reports and ballistic studies and conduct computer models and simulations to replicate and confirm operational events. The goal, Dick said, is to identify vulnerabilities and give decision makers the concrete findings they need to help shore them up. Read more. Did You Know?  Good oral health is an important part of maintaining overall health, and a military retiree’s access to dental coverage doesn’t end when they hang up their uniform. With the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program, retired service members can purchase affordable dental coverage for themselves and their eligible family members.
The TRICARE Retiree Dental Program is available around the world to retired service members who receive retirement pay, “gray area” retired National Guard and Reserve members who are entitled to (but are not yet receiving) retirement pay, and Medal of Honor recipients. The spouses and children up to age 21 (or 23 if they are full-time students) of these retirees are also eligible for the retiree dental program. Learn more IN and OUT: Comings and Goings in the MHS  IN:  Charles L. Rice, M.D., is performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs; and is the Acting Director, TRICARE Management Activity. Dr. Rice continues as President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
The Military Health System (MHS) is a unique partnership of medical educators, medical researchers, and health care providers and their support personnel worldwide. The MHS is prepared to respond anytime, anywhere with comprehensive medical capability to military operations, natural disasters and humanitarian crises around the globe, and to ensure delivery of world-class health care to all DoD service members, retirees, and their families. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or manage your e-mail subscription options, including your preference for text or HTML formatted e-mails, click here. |