Veterans and active military personnel are the focus of the National Center for Veterans Studies, which the U of M recently joined. (Photo by Rhonda Cosentino)
U of M joins national effort to combat veteran trauma The University of Memphis has created a partnership with the University of Utah to provide research for the National Center for Veterans Studies (NCVS). The NCVS, housed on the Utah campus, was co-founded by U of M Provost Dr. M. David Rudd while he was a dean there. The mission of the NCVS is to research the challenges veterans face, including posttraumatic stress disorder, and to find ways to improve their lives. “I am excited to announce the expansion of the NCVS to the University of Memphis, which will greatly enhance the Center’s reach and capabilities,” says Dr. Craig Bryan, a clinical psychologist and executive director of the NCVS. “I look forward to the positive impact this new partnership will have on our work with military personnel and veterans across the country. The locations of our respective institutions, in particular, will improve our collaborations with military and veterans’ organizations at the regional and local level.” W W W. M E M P H I S . E D U
Rudd and Bryan have led several clinical trials targeting active-duty soldiers at risk for suicide, with results to be released in the coming weeks. Rudd is a proponent of expanding healthcare options to veterans and active military. Much of his research has been in the area of post-traumatic stress disorder, looking at ways to offset a troubling trend. In 2012, active military suicides reached an all-time high of 349, with about 950 suicide attempts per month, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Studies have shown that every 80 minutes, a veteran commits suicide. Many observers feel the VA has become overwhelmed with the rapidly swelling numbers. “The long wait times are part of the difficulty,” Rudd says. “Part of what we need is better access and better availability of health care outside the traditional system for veterans. “Given the number of veterans struggling with psychiatric issues, it is difficult to meet
that demand and to hire enough people to provide access and availability of care in areas of the country where we have high-risk soldiers. Numbers suggest we are not meeting the demands. We need to look at making health care more readily available in rural areas where there are a lot of veterans.” Rudd says the government needs to consider partnerships with local community providers and agencies that provide that type of flexibility in a more nimble, responsive health care system. “In cases where there are suicide risks and there are significant risks of harm in some way, what is critical is how responsive, how fast we can provide care and not delay it,” Rudd says. “One of the things we know is that when we delay care to individuals at high risk, that risk goes up. If we look at some of the tragic loses that we have experienced, those were people who were waiting for care.”
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