Military opens new brain injury center

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) - The Defense Department opened a $65 million medical center Thursday to serve as a research and treatment hub for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, the unseen "signature wounds" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The National Intrepid Center of Excellence at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda aims to destigmatize psychological and neurological problems among war veterans and instead cast their mental ailments as badges of honor, said New York real-estate magnate Arnold Fisher. His Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund raised the money to build and equip the curvy, two-story, glass-and-concrete structure.

"The work that will be done here will remove the profound veil that has fallen over these afflictions," said Fisher, speaking from a stage with 21 brain-injured or psychologically damaged service members seated behind him.

They included former Army Sgt. Ted Wade, of Chapel Hill, N.C., who sustained severe brain injuries and lost most of his right arm when an enemy bomb hit his Humvee on Valentine's Day 2004. After two months in a coma, Wade was medically discharged and treated by private physicians, said his wife, Sarah. The medicine they prescribed for his PTSD and severe depression made him worse because of his brain injuries, she said, leading to mounting medical bills, a five-year battle over insurance claims and her own stress-related illness.

"When we were at our lowest point, I felt like it was Ted and I against the world," she said.

Army Staff Sgt. Dorothea Hooper of Baltimore said the Department of Veterans Affairs has had only minor success in treating the post-traumatic stress symptoms she developed after suffering neck, shoulder and back injuries from a 2006 mortar blast in Iraq.

"I mostly have withdrawn," said Hooper, 47, who is married with two children and two grandchildren. She said she avoids family gatherings, crowds and driving and feels "discombobulated" by sudden surges of anger, sadness and confusion.

Neurologist Thomas DeGraba, the center's chief of medical operations, said family care is central to the facility's holistic approach to healing. The Fisher House Foundation, established by Arnold Fisher's family, is building a 21-room residence next door for the exclusive use of families with patients at the center.

DeGraba said the cost of running the center is estimated at $31 million a year. He said it will serve as a hub for all the military's traumatic brain injury and PTSD care. Treatments developed at the center will be shared with other military and VA facilities, he said.

Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said studies indicate that more than 10 percent of returning troops have suffered concussions and at least 12 percent have exhibited symptoms of combat stress, depression or other mental problems that can mimic brain injuries.

DeGraba said one of the center's goals is to better distinguish the source of such symptoms and treat them accordingly.

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Online: National Intrepid Center of Excellence