Helping veterans get vital care

In late 2009, the Red Sox Foundation, the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, and Massachusetts General Hospital joined forces to create the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, a philanthropic partnership designed to help local veterans who were deployed in support of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and live with combat or deployment-related stress and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their families.

 

Thousands of soldiers who have returned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle, often silently, with stress disorders and TBI, often referred to as "the invisible wounds of war." According to a 2008 RAND Corporation study, one in five service members from these combat theaters suffers from depression or stress disorders, including post traumatic stress disorder (deployment- and combat-related stress). In addition, another nearly 20 percent of veterans of these modern wars have experienced concussions or other traumatic brain injuries during their tours of duty. In total, its estimated that because of these conditions, one-fourth of returning servicemen and servicewomen will have considerable difficulty adjusting to civilian life.

 

These deployment-related disorders too often go undiagnosed and untreated because of the stigma associated with the emotional and psychological scars of the combat experience. The Home Base Program seeks to reach out to veterans who have, or may have, deployment- and combat-related stress and TBI to encourage them to get the vital care and services they need and deserve, so they can begin the healing process.

 

 

Our Mission

The mission of the Home Base Program is to serve New England veterans affected by what have become the two signature wounds of the current war.

 

Our program has four key components, including:

• A clinical program to provide confidential evaluation, diagnosis and care for veterans with deployment- and combat-related stress and/or TBI;
  
  
• A family program to provide education, counseling, and family support services to family members of veterans;
  
  
• Innovative research which seeks to develop better treatments for these conditions; and
  
  
• An educational component to help inform veterans, families and health care providers, social workers, clergy and others about the diagnosis and treatment of deployment- and combat-related stress and TBI.

We coordinate our efforts with the staff from the VA Healthcare System, the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technologies (CIMIT) and other community partners to provide the best care and hope for veterans and their families.

 

The Home Base Program also addresses the need for focused research into the complexities of deployment- and combat-related stress and TBI with the goal of identifying better treatments and cures. Currently, the number of professionals specifically trained to diagnosis and treat these disorders is inadequate to handle the growing demand, and the Home Base Program offers opportunities for health care professionals from throughout the region and beyond to increase their understanding of how to help veterans. Bringing together related efforts in clinical care, family support, education and research under a synergistic and cohesive program will advance the care and treatment for those who need and deserve the best that our health care system and our community have to offer.

 

We invite you to learn more about the promise, progress and plans for the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program as we support and help the men and women who have served our country so bravely and proudly.

 

 

The Need

Thousands of soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan grapple with what some call “the invisible wounds of war” — deployment- and combat-related stress and TBI. These disorders are complex, highly individualized and difficult for the many people who are affected. Families of veterans suffering from deployment- and combat-related stress or TBI often need support and guidance as they seek ways to understand and reconnect with someone who has returned from the war with experiences, memories and visions that may have left a deep and lasting imprint.

 

According to the 2008 RAND Corporation study “The Invisible Wounds of War,” of the 1.64 million service members who have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, nearly one in five currently suffers from depression or stress disorders, including deployment- and combat-related stress. In addition, nearly 20 percent of veterans who served in these ongoing conflicts experienced a concussion or other traumatic brain injury during their tours of duty.

 

Many veterans struggle with the stigma associated with disorders caused by the emotional stress and trauma of their battlefield experiences. While such psychological anxiety and distress may not be as obvious as the physical wounds of war, the scars are just as painful and deep. And these stress-related disorders require attention and treatment by a team of providers who are familiar with and experienced with the complexities and nuances of deployment- and combat-related stress and TBI.

 

Through a range of activities and events, the Home Base Program informs and educates the community about deployment- and combat-related stress and TBI to help erase the unfortunate stigma of the disorders and encourage those who need help to get support and care. Recognizing that the Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for delivering care and services to veterans, the Home Base Program does not duplicate or compete with the effective and important programs currently offered by the VA Healthcare System. Rather, the Home Base Program augments and enhances this care while expanding vital support services to the family members of veterans.

 

The Home Base Program addresses the need for more focused research into the complexities of deployment- and combat-related stress and TBI with the goal of identifying better treatments and cures. Furthermore, the number of professionals specifically trained to diagnosis and treat these disorders is inadequate to handle the growing demand, and the Home Base Program offers opportunities for health care professionals from throughout the region and beyond to increase their understanding of how to help veterans. Bringing together related efforts in clinical care, family support, education and research under a synergistic and cohesive program advances the care and treatment for those who need and deserve the best that our health care system and our community have to offer.

 

Our Team

The Red Sox Foundation

www.redsoxfoundation.org

 

A 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Red Sox Foundation was created in 2003 by Red Sox Principal Owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner, President Larry Lucchino and their partners to harness the passion fans have for the Red Sox and put it to work creating positive change in our community. The official team charity of the Boston Red Sox team, the Red Sox Foundation is committed to using the passion fans have for the team and the power of Red Sox Nation to strengthen community partnerships to improve the lives of at risk children and families across New England. The Foundation's efforts are primarily focused on our cornerstone programs in the areas of health, education, recreation as well as social services in low income urban neighborhoods. In September of 2009, the Red Sox Foundation teamed up with Massachusetts General Hospital to create the Home Base Program in support of local veterans and their families struggling with the two signature wounds of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars --- combat stress disorders and traumatic brain injuries.

The Red Sox Foundation has no endowment and raises most of its funds through special fundraising events with the Red Sox owners, players, their wives, Front office members and fans. In addition, donations from supporters and sponsors are a key part of the Red Sox Foundation Nation Team. The Red Sox Foundation has won numerous awards for its innovative programs and impact in the community. The Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation is Red Sox Senior Vice President Meg Vaillancourt.

Massachusetts General Hospital

www.massgeneral.org

Chartered by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1811, Massachusetts General Hospital is the third oldest general hospital in the United States and the oldest and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Each year, the 907-bed academic medical center admits nearly 50,000 patients, performs more than 37,000 surgical procedures, delivers more than 3,600 babies and takes care of nearly 1.5 million patients in its extensive outpatient programs and Emergency Department.

The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $550 million. In 1994, the MGH, along with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, founded Partners HealthCare, an integrated health care delivery system that includes the two founding academic medical centers, community hospitals, primary care and specialty physicians, specialty hospitals, community health centers, non-acute services, and other health-related entities. Mass General is consistently ranked among the top few hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, and it was the first hospital in Massachusetts to be designated a Magnet hospital, the highest honor for nursing excellence awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

 

Home Base Leadership

John A. Parrish, MD

Executive Director

John A. Parrish, MD, proudly served in the United States Marine Corps and was a battlefield doctor in Vietnam. He is the executive director and co-founder of the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT), a consortium of academic and engineering research laboratories, universities and more than 40 private-sector companies. Through CIMIT, clinical investigators work to advance the standards of care for all patients through the development and the adoption of targeted medical devices and technologies.

Trained in internal medicine, dermatology and clinical research, Dr. Parrish has been recognized as a visionary and innovator who lists among his accomplishments the development of therapies to treat skin disease, including the now-common use of ultraviolet light. For two decades, Dr. Parrish served as chief of the Department of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, founding the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, the first – and now the world’s largest – multidisciplinary research group to study the effects of lasers on tissue.

A graduate of Duke University and Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Parrish is a member of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Science, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and the Defense Science Board. He has earned the Discovery Award from the National Dermatology Foundation; the Bowditch Prize from Massachusetts General Hospital for enhancing the quality of patient care while reducing the cost of that care,; and the U.S. Army’s Thurman Award, honoring the late Gen. Maxwell Reid Thurman, who championed the advancement of lifesaving medical technologies within the U.S. Army. Dr. Parrish is the author or co-author or more than 300 publications, including six books.

Other key organizations involved

Activities of the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program are in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technologies (CIMIT).

 

The Department of Veterans Affairs

Comprehensive clinical care, including primary and specialty medical care, mental health treatment, and case management, is available to veterans at VA clinics and hospitals in your community. We invite you to call 857-364-5499 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to determine your eligibility and access VA services in the greater Boston area.

VA New England Healthcare System

The VA New England Healthcare System is one of 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Services are provided through primary care supported by eight Joint Commission accredited medical centers. We are located throughout the six New England states — Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. VISN 1 has more than 35 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), six nursing homes and two domiciliaries. Learn more at www.NewEngland.va.gov

 

The VA Boston Healthcare System

VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) provides comprehensive healthcare to more than 65,000 veterans and is the principal medical, surgical, and mental health referral center for veterans from throughout New England. Care is provided at three major campuses in Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, and Brockton and six community outpatient clinics. The VABHS’s comprehensive mental health services for veterans include highly specialized care for deployment- and combat-related stress and TBI. The VABHS is home to two divisions of the National Center on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (deployment- and combat-related stress) and a VA Center of Excellence on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and deployment- and combat-related stress; VABHS investigators have developed two of the most widely used evidence-based treatments for deployment- and combat-related stress. The VABHS is strongly affiliated with Harvard Medical School and the Boston University School of Medicine and provides training and research opportunities to over 2500 medical and nursing students, residents, fellows, and allied health professionals. VABHS is home to one of the largest research programs in the national VA system. Learn more at www.boston.va.gov.

 

Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology (CIMIT)

www.cimit.org

 

CIMIT is a nonprofit consortium of Boston teaching hospitals and engineering schools. CIMIT fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among world-class experts in medicine, science and engineering, in concert with industry and government, to rapidly improve patient care. CIMIT’s consortium institutions include Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Draper Laboratories, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Boston University, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Newton Wellesley Hospital, Partners HealthCare and the Veterans Administration Health Care System Boston. For more information, visit www.cimit.org

 

 

Program Honorary Directors

Former President George H.W. Bush

First Lady Michelle Obama

Lt. General James Peake (retired)

Vicki Kennedy

Caroline Kennedy

Lee Woodruff