Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been called the "signature wound" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Injuries the Service members receive downrange can originate from improvised explosive devices (IEDs), rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), mortars, gun blasts, falls and equipment failure.
Many military personnel have experienced multiple deployments due to the length of war, translating into multiple exposures to potential TBI events. However, more than 80 percent of TBIs occur in garrison. Common causes can include a blow to the head during sports and recreational activities, combatives or other military training, vehicle accidents and falls.
The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) tracks the total number of Service members throughout the DOD who have been diagnosed with a TBI. From 2000-2015 there have been 339,462 Service members diagnosed with a TBI, within garrison and deployment settings. Of these, 82.5 percent are classified as "mild TBI," also known as a concussion. The majority of these Service members are expected to have a full recovery from within a few days up to three months.
Symptoms presenting outside of this timeframe may also be associated with, sleep disturbances, chronic pain, or other behavioral health issues that share common symptoms of mild TBI. Evaluations seek to identify and treat symptoms with the expectation that Soldiers will be well and continue to work within their military occupational specialty.
Fort Huachuca is home to a Level 4 TBI Program, providing outpatient care to Service members with mild TBIs occurring while deployed and in garrison. Raymond W. Bliss Army Health Center TBI team members consist of Dr. Richard LaMacchia, treating neuropsychologist, Tracey-Jean Santoro, psychology technician, and Philip Sloss, registered nurse case manager.
The TBI team's mission is to assess and evaluate physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral symptoms in order to optimize care, improve outcome, and reduce disability using a patient-centered approach to promote recovery. Early identification of symptoms and treatment are important in preventing long-term consequences of concussion and TBI.
Service members can self-refer, or be referred to the TBI program by their primary care manager or another health care provider. An accurate history is then obtained by detailing the injury events and reviewing the Service member's medical history.
Here at Fort Huachuca, although a few of these Service members may be referred immediately following a potentially concussive event, most present to the RWBAHC TBI Program after continuing to experience symptoms possibly related to a traumatic brain injury that occurred in the past.
Typical symptoms include headaches; short-term memory problems; irritability; difficulty sleeping; problems with balance, vision or hearing; reduced attention and concentration; and other cognitive problems. Service members may also have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which has many overlapping symptoms with TBI. This often requires both conditions to be addressed simultaneously.
The TBI team develops an individual plan of care for each Service member to ensure he or she will receive the highest quality care in a timely and efficient manner. The plan of care is unique to each person, and the process of achieving goals set forth in the plan may take a few months or longer period. Typical treatment goals include reduction of headache frequency and intensity; improved onset and length of sleep; improved short-term memory and cognitive functioning; improved balance, vision and hearing; and reduction of PTSD symptoms.
The TBI team works with a variety of disciplines both within RWBAHC as well as in the community setting, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, optometry, behavioral health, neurology, audiology, and sleep labs.
The TBI team is available from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information about the TBI program, call 520.533.5756.
Social Sharing