POCATELLO — Many Idaho veterans returning from combat need treatment for traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. They got some good news at Saturday’s “The Red, White and Blue” regional veterans celebration held in the Red Lion Hotel.
Idaho Doctor’s Hospital and Idaho Hyperbarics have been selected as one of 30 hospitals in the country to participate in a national study that seeks to provide evidence that the use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBOT, in the treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Our community has many individuals who have sacrificed to serve in our military, and we are so pleased to be selected in a study that is seeking to identify the best treatments for a devastating condition that impacts military personnel all over the country,” said Louis Kraml, CEO of Bingham Memorial Hospital.
The study will focus on HBOT treatment of U.S. military veterans who suffer from TBI and PTSD. The Pentagon’s Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury estimated in a 2009 report that as many as 360,000 veterans may currently suffer from TBI, though many medical professionals believe this number can potentially be much higher.
The Red, White and Blue event was hosted by Bingham Memorial Hospital and the Bingham Healthcare Foundation to honor local veterans and current military personnel. Proceeds from the event will help pay for individual treatment of veterans who will be participating in the study and to raise awareness.
Saturday’s event also included a Veterans of Honor Medal Ceremony, where 17 veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan were honored for their service to the United States.
The Healing Center at Idaho Doctor’s Hospital will accept 100 military veterans between 18-65 years-old who suffer from TBI.
HBOT is a non-invasive treatment conducted inside a closed hyperbaric chamber where the air pressure is raised above normal, which increases the capacity of body fluids and tissues to carry oxygen. The Healing Center at Idaho Doctor’s Hospital has a therapy chamber that can treat up to 20 patients at one time.
“A wound is an inflammation and the pure oxygen used in hyperbolic treatment allows this inflammation to heal,” said Bernadette Howlett, Ph.d, the Director of Research at Bingham Memorial Hospital, which houses one of the largest HBOT facilities west of the Mississippi River,
Jeff Hampsten, the director of the Healing Center and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Pocatello, believes hyperbaric oxygen therapy can prove beneficial not only in treating the effects of TBI, but also in the treatment of Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, and Lou Gehrig’s disease as well.
“We protect our soldiers with a lot of protective equipment, but nothing is going to protect them from the concussive effects of an explosion,” Hampsten said.
Hampsten noted a case study about five years ago that he worked on involving a 19-year-old who had suffered multiple concussions during his teenage years. Initially, he was low-functioning due to the damaging effects the concussions had on his brain, but great progress was made after a series of hyperbolic treatments, and now the young man is in college and is fully employed.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, suicide attributed to TBI and PTSD claims approximately 18 veterans a day and that number is expected to rise in the coming years, especially as more veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq come home.
The department also said that Idaho is home to one of the nation’s highest percentage of veteran populations under the age of 25. The societal effects of TBI and PTSD can include violent crime, domestic violence, joblessness, and mental illness.
“These conditions affect every military family,” said Dr. James Wright, a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force who has conducted extensive research into HBOT treatments and was special honorary speaker at the Red, White, and Blue Celebration.
During his speech, Wright strongly encouraged those in attendance to write their congressmen to support studies and research that are beneficial to veterans’ health and well-being.
