Health News
Doctors at Fort Campbell are using a mock battlefield to assess whether or not soldiers who have suffered a traumatic brain injury are ready to return to combat. The clinic has been recognized by the Department of Defense as a national model.
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Health News
Fort Campbell using simulated battlefields to assess brain injuries
Doctors at Fort Campbell are using a mock battlefield to assess whether or not soldiers who have suffered a traumatic brain injury are ready to return to combat. The clinic has been recognized by the Department of Defense as a national model."Soldiers are making life and death decisions, so doesn't it make sense to use demonstrated competence as the standard for returning someone to duty?" Dr. David Twillie told National Public Radio's Blake Farmer.
In exercises meant to simulate scenarios they face when fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers sweep a gravel road for possible roadside bombs, take fire from insurgents and are told to insert chest tubes and tie tourniquets while listening to sound from a scene in Saving Private Ryan. The goal is to assess how well the soldiers handle the stress of the situations. Patients must also take written tests that assess their competence. The combination of both simulated and written assessments is important.
"Very recently we had a soldier that had a desire to stay in, had done well in all our simulations," Twillie said. "But when all the different sights, sounds, smells came back, he just wasn't able to change his focus, and that's very important in combat."
Memory loss, mood swings and difficulties balancing are common symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. About 115,000 soldiers have experienced such an injury, the Defense Department estimates. (Read more)
- Centers For Disease Control Working To Find Ways To Prevent Traumatic Brain Injury; Affects One In Five Kentucky Households
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is using a public-health approach to find strategies to prevent traumatic brain injuries and reduce the physical, psychological, economic and social impacts they cause. Image: brainline.orgTraumatic...
- Report Says Veteran Suicide Rate Is Up From 2007
Almost every hour in this country, on average, a veteran commits suicide. The Department of Veterans Affairs reported that 22 veterans per day took their own lives in 2010, up four a day from the 2007 rate. Perhaps contrary to public perception, the report...
- Caregivers Of Wounded Soldiers Find Their Lives Are Also Changed; Getting Compensation
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan disproportionately affect rural areas, which provide more than the average number of recruits. The soldiers who make it home alive come back changed, with traumatic brain damage, post-traumatic stress syndrome or other...
- Learn The Symptoms Of Brain Injury
by Kevin E. Crutchfield, M.D, Director, Comprehensive Sports Concussion Program, The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Brain & Spine Institute When your loved one is involved in athletics, it's important to recognize the symptoms of a concussion. A concussion...
- Sports-related Concussions Pose Serious Risk
by Kevin E. Crutchfield, M.D., Director, Comprehensive Sports Concussion Program, Sandra and Malcolm Berman Brain & Spine Institute With the school sports season gearing up, remember that sports-related concussions are a risk for athletes. Concussion...