Posted on Apr 4, 2018
BG Hammond and Dr. Sylvia were here for a Q&A on 4/10/18 to answer questions about wellness-based programs
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Home Base’s Executive Director, retired Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Director of Health and Wellness, Dr. Louisa Sylvia, are here to talk about the wellness-based programs Home Base has created to help heal the invisible wounds of war. These initiatives include fitness programs to empower Veterans to take control of their physical wellbeing, as well as mind body courses to help address the negative impact that stress can have on Veterans. What questions do you have for us about resilience and wellness programs for Veterans?
Brigadier General (ret.) Jack Hammond
During his distinguished 30-year military career in the U.S. Army, General Hammond commanded troops from the platoon to brigade level during peace and war, becoming the first Massachusetts officer to achieve the rank of general officer in a combat theater since World War II. General Hammond had multiple combat commands in both Iraq and Afghanistan to include serving as; Commanding General for U.S. Forces in Kabul Province, and multiple Battalion Commands in Iraq.
General Hammond has served as the Executive Director of the Home Base Program since his retirement from the U.S. Army in 2012. During this time he has presented at the White House Summit on Veterans and Military Family Mental Health, President Bush’s Veteran Stand-To Summit, Advised President Obama’s Commission on Military Benefits and Retirement, and served on Governor Charlie Baker’s Healthcare Transition Team & Veteran Advisory Council.
Dr Louisa Grandin Sylvia
Dr. Louisa Sylvia is a staff psychologist and director of Psychology at Bipolar Clinic and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, director of the Health and Wellness at the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sylvia’s major research interests are developing resilience and wellness programs for veterans and individuals with mood disorders. She was awarded a K23 Career Development grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop Nutrition/diet, Exercise, and Wellness Treatment (i.e., “NEW Tx”) for bipolar disorder. She was also funded by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention to develop a brief sleep intervention for to improve sleep and suicidality.
This discussion will be monitored by RallyPoint staff. Please follow guidelines at: http://rly.pt/QARules
Brigadier General (ret.) Jack Hammond
During his distinguished 30-year military career in the U.S. Army, General Hammond commanded troops from the platoon to brigade level during peace and war, becoming the first Massachusetts officer to achieve the rank of general officer in a combat theater since World War II. General Hammond had multiple combat commands in both Iraq and Afghanistan to include serving as; Commanding General for U.S. Forces in Kabul Province, and multiple Battalion Commands in Iraq.
General Hammond has served as the Executive Director of the Home Base Program since his retirement from the U.S. Army in 2012. During this time he has presented at the White House Summit on Veterans and Military Family Mental Health, President Bush’s Veteran Stand-To Summit, Advised President Obama’s Commission on Military Benefits and Retirement, and served on Governor Charlie Baker’s Healthcare Transition Team & Veteran Advisory Council.
Dr Louisa Grandin Sylvia
Dr. Louisa Sylvia is a staff psychologist and director of Psychology at Bipolar Clinic and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, director of the Health and Wellness at the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sylvia’s major research interests are developing resilience and wellness programs for veterans and individuals with mood disorders. She was awarded a K23 Career Development grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop Nutrition/diet, Exercise, and Wellness Treatment (i.e., “NEW Tx”) for bipolar disorder. She was also funded by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention to develop a brief sleep intervention for to improve sleep and suicidality.
This discussion will be monitored by RallyPoint staff. Please follow guidelines at: http://rly.pt/QARules
Home Base
Healthcare
70B: Health Services Administration
Q&A
Resiliency
Edited 6 y ago
Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 16
BG Jack Hammond I have seen some academic texts in which the trauma that is experienced can be reduced to minimize long term effects of PTSD if the event is discussed and counseled within a 3-7 day period following the event. Is it possible to do this during after action reports? Would this be beneficial to our troops in the long run?
Thank you so very much for all that you and Dr. Sylvia are doing for our veteran community.
Thank you so very much for all that you and Dr. Sylvia are doing for our veteran community.
BG Jack Hammond
Thank you SGT David Reynolds for this thoughtful question. I’ll let Dr. Sylvia weigh in on the first part of your question, but to answer your question regarding AARs (after action reports), I think this would be a great idea, in fact, in 2011, I held a series of AARs for the infantry platoons assigned to my command as part of their redeployment. Some of the things that came out during those discussions never showed up in any official reports that made it to my level. And it was good to get them to begin talking through some of these complex issues. It would be great if we could institutionalize this - especially among the ground combat forces.
Louisa Sylvia
SGT Reynolds, you are correct that typically it is important to process the trauma as soon as possible. A few considerations is that ideally the person disclosing the trauma would feel safe at the time that they are disclosing and that the person listening to the disclosure would be supportive and validating of the disclosure. I mention these aspects as I don’t want to get too set on just thinking about a timeframe, but you certainly have the right idea that sharing and processing sooner rather than later is ideal.
SGT (Join to see)
BG Jack Hammond - Thank you, General. I think if that could help reduce some of the effects of PTSD, that would be very beneficial to our troops.
BG Jack Hammond
SGT (Join to see) - thanks for bringing this up. I hope to address this with the Senior Military leaders I continue to engage in this role.
BG Jack Hammond, Dr. Sylvia thank you for joining us on RallyPoint and for all that you do in support of the military community's mental health. Can you talk about the geographic reach of Home Base services for our RP members who are dealing with PTS or other mental health challenges? Do you have referral programs outside of Massachusetts, remote access programs, etc. for those who need help outside your coverage area? Thanks again for your exceptional service to our country.
BG Jack Hammond
Thanks for your questions, CPT David Gowel! Home Base is a National Center of Excellence, so there is no “outside our coverage area.” Over the past 24 months, we have provided direct clinical care for veterans from more than 40 states. Through our two-week intensive clinical program, we are able to compress a year’s worth of therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) and/or Traumatic Brain injury, in addition to complementary medicine such as skill building treatments that allow veterans to regain their life. All air fare, lodging, transportation, meals, and care are provided at NO COST to the veteran. All the veteran needs to do is connect with us via homebase.org or by calling [login to see] .
We have engaged in a partnership - primarily funded by the Wounded Warrior Project - called the Warrior Care Network (WCN). WCN is comprised of three other academic medical centers - UCLA, Emory, Rush - each of which has replicated the Home Base model. These institutions will provide this world-class clinical care at no cost to the Veterans and cover lodging, transportation, and meals.
In addition to our Boston-based services, we also have a great program down in Southwest Florida. Our SWFL Warrior Health & Fitness program was created to empower local Veterans and Warriors to take control of their physical well-being, provide tools to help manage stress and provide a portal for more complex care for those in need of treatment for the invisible wounds.
We have engaged in a partnership - primarily funded by the Wounded Warrior Project - called the Warrior Care Network (WCN). WCN is comprised of three other academic medical centers - UCLA, Emory, Rush - each of which has replicated the Home Base model. These institutions will provide this world-class clinical care at no cost to the Veterans and cover lodging, transportation, and meals.
In addition to our Boston-based services, we also have a great program down in Southwest Florida. Our SWFL Warrior Health & Fitness program was created to empower local Veterans and Warriors to take control of their physical well-being, provide tools to help manage stress and provide a portal for more complex care for those in need of treatment for the invisible wounds.
Good Afternoon, RallyPoint! Dr. Louisa Sylvia, Director of Health and Wellness at Home Base, here to answer your questions about our wellness-based programs. As the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran – my father served as a 1st LT in the Marines and deployed to Da Nang – I am especially honored to be part of the Q&A today. I am looking forward to hearing from you!
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