Published: October 21, 2008 11:02 pm      

Project targets combat stress

Thirty years ago, Dr. Burton Singerman was helping Vietnam veterans deal with divorce, alcoholism and homelessness and other devastating effects of combat stress.

Now Singerman is leading Memorial Medical Center’s research team developing a national program to help protect today’s warriors from similar consequences.

As it enters its second year, the combat stress intervention project is preparing to launch a major public education and outreach initiative.

“We hope the things I witnessed in Vietnam veterans – including suicides and other real horrors – are not going to happen in this war,” said Singerman, a psychiatrist and Memorial Medical Center chairman of behavioral health.

“The harsh reality of these combat stress issues is that they affect the entire community,” research team member and Army Reservist Brandy Litzinger said. “They are our teachers, our police officers and our parents.”

Leaders hope to expand awareness throughout the community, helping health care workers, clergy, social workers, employers and family members understand issues, while helping returning service personnel find ways to reach out for help, Singerman said.

A new study showing high suicide rates among National Guard and Reservists brings an urgency to the work, he added. Two Western Pennsylvania veterans have taken their own lives in the past week, Singerman said, noting that returning citizen soldiers are two and a half times more likely to commit suicide.

“Suicide rates are the highest in the history of the military,” Singerman said.

A press conference Tuesday at Memorial’s Lee Campus introduced a computerized kiosk to be placed at convenient locations throughout the community early next year. The touch-screen information system is being developed to help returning soldiers and family members learn about symptoms of stress disorders and find help. At least 15 of the kiosks will be distributed, with more added as the project grows, Singerman said.

Working in collaboration with Washington and Jefferson College, the local research team continues to survey key members of the community measuring the level of awareness on veterans’ stress issues, researcher Lori Murphy said.

“The (kiosks’) content will be driven by the research findings that we are collecting,” Murphy said.

Some key data is being collected at family focus group events, including one at 6 p.m. today in Richland. The anonymous discussion program is intended for adult family members and spouses of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government-funded study provides a significant gift for each participant, Singerman said.

Preregistration is required by calling (888) 848-0718 before 5 p.m. today.

By analyzing different approaches to find out what works here, researchers believe they can expand the project in non-urban areas throughout the country.

“This is a national demonstration project,” Singerman said. “We want to show how health professionals can be educated to better deal with problems that have always been seen in returning veterans.”