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The first center offering comprehensive care for European-based mild Traumatic Brain Injury patients celebrated its grand opening Feb. 25 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
“After two years and $1.5 million, we now have what we think will be one of the premiere military medical TBI centers providing comprehensive, innovative medical care for patients with mild TBI,” said acting LRMC commander Col. (Dr.) Jeffrey Lawson before cutting a yellow ribbon signifying the official opening of the LRMC TBI Rehabilitation Center.
The center is staffed with 32 military and civilian employees covering medical disciplines that include neurology, optometry, audiology, physical therapy, speech language pathology, occupational therapy, psychology and nurse case managers.
TBI treatment has previously been available at LRMC and its outlying health clinics for service members, family members and DOD civilians, but now for the first time a team of medical specialists have been united in one building to facilitate their care.
For patients needing care beyond the scope of their local health clinic, they can travel to LRMC for more intensive treatment, which includes the Synapse Program, a four-week in-resident program.
For local outpatients and patients from downrange receiving short-term care for TBI, the center eliminates the need for patients with headaches, balance problems and other symptoms of TBI from having to navigate treatment at individual clinics in the medical center.
Patients will benefit from the new center, but TBI practitioners at LRMC have benefitted as well from their patients, said Maj. (Dr.) Shawna Scully, chief of neurology at LRMC.
“The best, true educator and professor that any of us working in TBI have ever had was our patients,” said Major Scully during the opening ceremony. “They taught us, they explained, they were patient, which is amazing given what they were going through: chronic pain, sleep deprivation and a brain that just wasn’t processing quite right. Every single thing you see in here is because they told us ‘X is wrong, and I need you to build something to fix it.’ This is truly why this center is here.”
“I think we are lucky to have such a great facility here providing significant contributions to our effort to learn about the signature wound of this war,” Colonel Lawson said. “This is a great facility and I know we will do great things for our patients.”
