National Council on Disability Says More Needs to be Done for Service Members and Veterans With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Br...( WASHINGTON March 4 -- The National C...),Health

WASHINGTON, March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released a report recommending changes in the continuum of health care provided to service members and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

According to NCD Chairperson John R. Vaughn, "The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are resulting in injuries that are currently disabling for many, and potentially disabling for still more. They are also putting unprecedented strain on families and relationships, strain that can contribute to the severity of the service member's disability over the course of time."

"The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) have initiated a number of improvements in the delivery of health care for service members and veterans with PTSD and TBI. They are to be congratulated for these efforts, but more needs to be done."

"Medical and scientific knowledge needed to comprehensively address PTSD and TBI is incomplete. However, many evidence-based practices do exist. Unfortunately, service members and veterans face a number of barriers in accessing these practices including stigma; inadequate information; insufficient services to support families; limited access to available services, and a shortage of services in some areas. Many studies and commissions have presented detailed recommendations to address these needs. There is an urgent need to implement these recommendations," Vaughn concluded.

The report, Invisible Wounds: Serving Service Members and Veterans with PTSD and TBI (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2009/veterans.doc), addresses those concerns and makes 10 recommendations.

1. A comprehensive continuum of care for mental disorders, including PTSD, and for TBI should be readily accessible
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