THREE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HEALTH CARE COUNSELORS
TO PROVIDE PTSD SERVICES TO VETS BEGINNING IN DECEMBER
From: George Hardeen George Hardeen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 1, 2005
THREE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HEALTH CARE COUNSELORS
TO PROVIDE PTSD SERVICES TO VETS BEGINNING IN DECEMBER
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. Navajo veterans who need help for Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder will be able to see a Veterans Administration counselor on the
Navajo Nation within the week to receive services that could include Navajo
ceremonies provided by a VA-employed Navajo medicineman.
The Northern Arizona VA Health Care System has received a new three-year,
$250,000 grant to hire three counselors to provide services for PTSD to
Navajo and northern Arizona veterans.
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., said the counselors are expected
to start work in Chinle on Dec. 5 but the official kickoff of the program
will be in January 2006. He first announced the new service on Veterans Day
in Shiprock.
³So many of our Navajo veterans have received no services at all since
returning from combat,² the President said. ³It really mentally handicaps a
person, leaving them with nightmares and bad feelings. They need something
to re-adjust to life as it should be. With this program, they can get it. It
is only because of our veterans, our soldiers and their families that we
have freedom in the land.²
PTSD is treatable. It begins as a normal response to an extremely abnormal
experience such as combat. It can happen to anyone. If the trauma is severe
enough, the veteran may chronically re-experience the traumatic events.
Veterans who have served in combat often experience PTSD and commonly
develop other conditions such as alcohol use disorder, depression and even
suicide.
Deborah A. Thompson, director of Northern Arizona VA Health Care System in
Prescott, briefed the President and Vice President Frank Dayish, Jr., on the
program in August. She said the counselors will serve the northern part of
Arizona, which includes the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. Two of the
counselors are Native American and one, although non-native, has served
veterans for years.
³Itıs a new thing but itıs very important,² said Anslem Roanhorse, director
of the Navajo Nation Division of Health. ³This is the first time weıve ever
done this on an interagency basis. Weıre going to set the model. Although
itıs a three-year grant, we want to make sure that it continues beyond three
years.²
Mr. Roanhorse said reports indicate that PTSD affects many veterans
returning from the Iraq War to some degree.
³The studies are showing theyıre being very much affected,² he said. ³This
is a new grant. We certainly can make use of this resource.²
He said the Navajo Division of Health, Indian Health Service, Chinle Vet
Center and the VA developed a 10-point action plan to assist in the
implementation of the PTSD clinic.
An October 2005 report for the National Indian Health Board says Navajo
veterans encounter considerable difficulty when seeking VA health care
services because they are often located great distances from their homes.
For more than 30 years, Navajo veterans have expressed the need for VA
health care services. Proposals have resulted in a small number of programs
for Navajo veterans over the years.
The new grant comes from the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Mental Health
Strategic Healthcare Group. Its purpose is to expand existing services for
vets suffering from PTSD in northeastern Arizona. It will expand services
now offered in Chinle, Keams Canyon, Bellemont and Cottonwood.
The Northern Arizona VA Health Care System plan is to create an outreach
team that will visit the Navajo and Hopi nations on a regular basis. The
program will provide three social workers trained in PTSD care to provide
group, individual and family counseling to assist in PTSD therapy.
The group treatment will teach social skills and cognitive behavioral
methods of self-management of symptoms. The Northern Arizona VA Health Care
System will work collaboratively with tribes to integrate spiritual,
cultural and family support for the veterans treated.
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
Anslem Roanhorse, executive director, Navajo Division of Health
928-871-6068, Anslem Roanhorse
Deborah Thompson, director, Northern Arizona VA Health Care System
928-776-6101, Deborah Thompson
CONTACT
George Hardeen, Communications Director
Office of the President and Vice President
The Navajo Nation
Ofc: 928-871-7917
Cell: 928-309-8532
George Hardeen
Thx to Y Yazzie and Bea Woodward for passing this on.
Contents
December 2005 Reports
Last updated on December 09, 2005