Goals and Objectives

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Goals and Objectives 2015-2017 Submitted By Thomas C. Hall, Ph.D.

1 Goals and Objectives Submitted By Thomas C. Hall, Ph.D. Chair: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/ Substance Abuse Committee Vietnam Veterans of America To Officers and Board of Directors Vietnam Veterans of America Monday, October 26, 2015 Page 1 of 5

Vietnam Veterans of America: PTSD/SA Committee Committee Plan for 2015 2017 Mission The purpose of the VVA PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee is to support and advocate actively for the health care --

other debilitating psychological reactions to trauma resulting from military service. This advocacy and support also includes health care for family members of such veterans.

2 Vietnam Veterans of America: PTSD/SA Committee Committee Plan for Mission The purpose of the VVA PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee is to support and advocate actively for the health care -- diagnoses, clinical practices, clinical research, treatments, specialized programs, and related educational efforts -- necessary to meet the needs of veterans with PTSD, substance addictions, and other debilitating psychological reactions to trauma resulting from military service. This advocacy and support also includes health care for family members of such veterans. from Policy & Procedures Statement adopted by VVA BOD in April Overview The PTSD/SA Committee was established to advance policy and legislation to bring the upmost level of accountability in delivering the evidence-based mental health services needed by all veterans and their families. The PTSD & Substance Abuse Committee will continue to work in concert with the leadership of VVA, the national staff and other national VVA Committees and Taskforces, along with other veterans service organizations, to advocate in the Congress, Executive Branch, the Department of Veterans Affairs and with other federal officials, agencies, and staff for the mental health and substance addiction health care resources and programs that directly assist veterans and their families debilitated by the psychological trauma of war, including military sexual trauma. The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), the National Center for PTSD, and the Center for Suicide Prevention, in conjunction with the VA, Institutes of Medicine (I.O.M.), and the Department of Defense (DoD) are critical partnerships to securing, maintaining, and advancing best practices to ensure all veterans have a chance to come all the way home. Committee members in their respective local areas will continue to assist individual veterans and their families in locating and accessing mental health and substance addiction recovery and education programs and services. Page 2 of 5

3 Vietnam Veterans of America: PTSD/SA Committee Committee Goals for PTSD and Substance Abuse VVA shall work with Congress to ensure that DoD corrects all wrongful diagnoses of personality disorder, adjustment disorder, and readjustment disorder discharges of its men and women, so that all veterans found to have been inappropriately diagnosed and discharged are correctly diagnosed and accorded access to the benefits and care that they deserve and to which they should be entitled. VVA shall work with Congress to take whatever measures are deemed necessary to ensure accountability for the organizational capacity and funding for the accurate diagnoses and evidence-based treatments of the neuropsychiatric wounds of war, particularly for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and suicide risk. VVA shall work with Congress to ensure that the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs develop, fund, and implement evidence-based, integrated psychosocial mental health programs, substance-abuse recovery treatment programs, and suicide-risk assessment programs for all veterans and their families, for active-duty troops and their families, for Reservists and members of the National Guard who have seen service in a combat zone. Vietnam Veterans of America: PTSD/SA Committee Page 3 of 5

4 Committee Objectives Committee Objectives: Objectives are driven by committee input and are subject to ongoing improvement. Stay current on methods, tools and techniques to diagnose and treat PTSD and Substance Abuse. Inform membership of mental health and substance abuse news and concerns. Collaborate with national staff to implement the Committee s legislative agenda. Respond to information requests. Collaborate with other committee chairs where mental health and substance abuse issues intersect with their committee s agendas. Submit Committee minutes to National Secretary for general dissemination. Work with national staff to develop, maintain and improve Committee informational materials. (e.g., brochures, fact sheets, electronic media, etc.). Respond to invitations to develop and present on mental health and substance abuse topics of interest to the membership and other appropriate groups. (e.g., Secondary PTSD) Represent the concerns of the PTSD/SA committee at hearings, panels, and briefings at the local, state, regional, and national levels when appropriate (e.g., Congressional Forum on Addictions) Work with the national office to reach out to policy makers and legislators for the advancement of best practices in the treatment of PTSD/SA. Develop committee agenda with input from all interested parties. Prepare articles for the PTSD/SA Committee column in the VVA Veteran. Prepare the committee budget with input from all interested parties. Chair PTSD/SA Committee meetings. Examples of Accomplishments in previous Fiscal Year: Page 4 of 5

5 Chair currently serves on the Director s Focus Group at the Kansas City, Missouri V.A.M. C. Chair participated in the VVA legislative project to meet and speak with national Congressional representatives from our local districts. Chair presented the Committee s legislative agenda talking points to Congressional representatives. Chair (and Committee liaison) developed and presented suicide prevention program, Suicide Prevention: Exposing Myths, Interrogating Causes and Deflecting the Moment at national BOD meeting, the VVA national education and leadership meeting in Wichita, KS, and Oregon town hall meeting, and to groups of citizens and veterans in the Kansas City area. Committee updated the PTSD/SA Committee brochures. Committee developed items for national legislative agenda Committee developed proposal for 2014 national leadership conference. (NVVLS presentation) Committee members continued local community educational outreach efforts, especially re: suicide prevention through information and presentations. Page 5 of 5

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HEARING LOSS PREVENTION EDUCATION: A COMPREHENSIVE HEARING HEALTH PROGRAM (CHHP) PILOT STUDY

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HEARING LOSS PREVENTION EDUCATION: A COMPREHENSIVE HEARING HEALTH PROGRAM (CHHP) PILOT STUDY National Hearing Conservation Association February 25, 2017 Kathy Gates, AuD, Prevention