Durham Staff Enhances Military Awareness By Jeff Melvin staff members wanting to learn VISN 6 public affairs more about military culture took a 90-minute Military Cul- Seeking to gain greater tural Awareness training course understanding of the military, available in VA’s Talent Man- Durham VAMC staff formu- agement System. The idea was lated a plan to reach their ob- simple; Durham VAMC staff jective. The journey began with would take the course to bet- online Military Cultural Aware- ter understand the military, and ness training, followed by a in turn would be able to better continuing series of roundtable provide health care to those discussions with Veterans, and who served. culminated with an exchange “The informative training of field trips with the Airmen explained military culture from of Seymour Johnson Air Force the ground zero,” Tillman said. Base in Goldsboro, N.C. “In Jeopardy-style format, staff Durham VAMC Public Af- learned about military branch- fairs Officer Pete Tillman, one es, ranks, and conflicts. After of the lead organizers of the completion of the course, they initiative, offered his assess- were primed for an experience ment of the undertaking and the of real life proportions.” Ed Kubacki desired outcome. The next step was for the A 4th Fighter Wing munitions maintainer shows Durham VAMC According to Tillman the staff the various munitions which can be delivered by the F-15E Strike Eagle. first step began when about 30 Continued on Pg 4 VA Secretary Makes Two Stops In VISN 6 Inside in Brief By Hampton & Richmond Richmond podiatrist earns VAMC public affairs recognition; New arrivals Pg 3 enhance field support. Secretary of Veterans Af- fairs Eric K. Shinseki paid vis- N.C. American Legion its to the Mid-Atlantic Health Winter Conference. Care Network region on two Pg 4 occasions in February, first on Durham receives “gold Feb. 3 when he toured Rich- heart” from NC preven- mond VAMC and on Feb. 9 Pg 5 tion partners. when he made a stop in the Hampton VAMC area to visit National salute tells Veter- a trade school with a growing ans We Care. population of student Veterans. Pg 6 During his visit to Rich- mond, the Secretary received Officers transition to new a firsthand look at two of the baton; Sun to set on US medical center’s most highly Pg 7 Treasury checks. touted programs, the McGuire Marriage vow renewal cer- Polytrauma Rehabilitation Darlene Edwards emony; Vietnam Veterans Center and the Servicemember VA Secretary Eric Shinseki discusses Polytrauma with Dr. Shane Pg 8 homecoming 2012. Transitional Amputee Rehabili- McNamee, chief, physical medicine and rehabilitation, Richmond tation (STAR) program. VAMC, and U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott. Women can suffer same Secretary Shinseki also deployment ills as men; toured projects the facility has Pg 10 Facts about women Vets. implemented to become more visit. designed to provide intensive energy efficient. Virginia Con- McGuire’s Polytrauma rehabilitative care to Veterans VISN 6 Sites of Care with gressman Bobby Scott accom- Rehabilitation Center is one addresses and phone num- panied the secretary during his of five facilities in the country Continued on Pg 5 Pg 12 bers for each location. From the Director This month, I’ll shift to a more clinical focus and shine a light on some very important work going on behind the scenes that really speaks to the heart of being a Veteran-cen- tered health care organization. It is well known that service- members have experiences that few who have not served can iden- tify with. These can leave emotional Retirement Specialty Center Can Help scars that may be invisible to the The VISN 6 Retirement Specialty Center (RSC) is here eye, but are just as real as the physi- to assist you with your CSRS/FERS optional, disability, cal scars we can see. I’d like to take military and civilian service deposit, and annuity estimate this opportunity to tell you about retirement needs. what VISN 6 is doing to treat the in- For retirement assistance, please contact us at our toll visible wounds of war. free number 1-877-645-6015 or at [email protected]. Our VA is the undisputed leader in mending the physical traumas hours of operation are Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. of war. Equally as important, VA also leads national and interna- Face-to-face consultations are available by appointment tional efforts to heal psychological trauma as well. only. Within VA, there are 15 specialized mental health centers of excellence which include 10 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECCs), four Mental Health Centers of personnel, patients and families through a variety of accessible Excellence, and the National Center for PTSD. means which include live presentations, print materials, record- The MIRECCs were established by Congress with the goal of ings, and even the web. researching the causes and treatments of mental disorders and us- So, why am I focusing on this work at this time? ing education to put new knowledge into routine clinical practice Unlike past conflicts where mental help for Veterans came too in VA. Each center addresses a particular mental illness, problem, little, too late, VA has made the commitment to address our Veter- or environmental situation. ans needs as soon as humanly possible and to assist our Veterans Post-deployment mental health challenges have been evident with their transition back to their civilian environment. for many years and in 2005, VA addressed this issue by awarding It’s important to note that an unprecedented number, 53 per- the VISN 6 MIRECC a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, edu- cent of the 2.2 million returning Veterans, have already sought care cators and researchers charged with the goal of bringing best prac- within VA. However, this means that 47 percent have not. Those tices in mental health care into deployment related mental health. who have not will likely seek care from community providers, who The overarching goal of Mid-Atlantic MIRECC is the clinical may not have access to the resources necessary to fully address assessment and treatment of post-deployment mental illness and traumatic brain injury or PTSD or related depression. readjustment related problems, and the development of new men- This is where MIRECC comes in. MIRECC is in constant tal health interventions through basic and clinical research. collaboration with North Carolina’s Area Health Education Cen- The MIRECC’s organizational structure includes three major ter and Citizen Soldier Support Program. The MIRECC team has components: research, clinical, and education. created training for community providers, such as primary care Locating a MIRECC in this network makes perfect sense be- doctors, caseworkers, and mental health providers to help them cause of the large population of Veterans within our boundaries. better understand the culture of Veterans and their families. The Installations like Fort Bragg, Camp Lejuene, Norfolk Naval Base, team also works to teach community providers how to best iden- Langley and Seymour Johnson Air Force Bases, along with the tify, assess, and treat mental health problems that may occur as a numerous Guard and Reserve bases allows the research registry result of war experiences. These workshops are available to all at access to large numbers of Veterans who are willing to help their www.ahecconnect.com/citizensoldier. Of note, these presentations fellow servicemembers by sharing their own stories. are the basis for the first national AHEC project ever approved! To The clinical component seeks to define, model, champion and date, more than 12,000 community providers have received train- refine the continuum of care for OEF/OIF/OND mental health. ing about deployment mental health issues and about how to work Key to their approach is that there should be “no wrong door” for in partnership with VA to ensure the best possible care for Veterans Veterans seeking care or for their families in helping them find and through this collaboration. work with that care. To achieve this, they have created an innova- While participation is voluntary, all returning OIF/OEF/OND tive collaboration with state governments in North Carolina and Veterans are invited to participate in ongoing research about the Virginia. effects of recent deployments on the physical and mental health Finally, the education component works to bridge the gap be- of servicemembers, especially as they transition from deployment tween research and clinical care. The education component trans- back to civilian life. Our goals are to learn more about the readjust- lates best practices and research concepts into educational materi- ment process, to recognize problems earlier, and to improve care. als and ensures that the knowledge is shared with all health care We are interested in learning about Veterans who have problems as well as those who have no problems at all. Voices of VISN 6 is published In this network, we are working to ensure that there is no monthly by VA Mid-Atlantic wrong door from which a Veteran or his/her family can seek help. Health Care Network. Again, I encourage all Veterans and families to learn more about Daniel F. Hoffmann, Network Director what is being done and what is being offered to those who need as- Augustin Davila, Deputy Network Director sistance. For more information, please go to www.mirecc.va.gov/ Questions or comments about Mark Shelhorse M.D., Chief Medical Officer visn6/index.asp. the newsletter, e-mail Bruce. Bruce Sprecher, Director, Public Affairs Steve Wilkins, Network Public Affairs Sincerely, [email protected] or call 919- Jeffery Melvin, Network Public Affairs Dan Hoffmann 956-5541. Patrick W. Schuetz, Newsletter Editor 2 Richmond Podiatrist Earns Recognition By Darlene Edwards Foot Conference, in Phoenix Richmond VAMC public affairs attended by more than 500 par- ticipants.