Column: Vietnam vet’s foundation tackles PTSD

The Island Now

For years, Vietnam combat veteran Louis A. Falco heard stories of veterans with PTSD falling through the cracks and ending up as suicides.

Three years ago, he decided to do something about it. With support from friends and Rotary Clubs, he helped create the Hicksville-based Operation-Initiative Foundation, whose purpose is to identify and get help for some of the estimated 31,000 Long Island veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and their estimated 96,000 caregivers.
The foundation has launched an endowment fund helped by a $20,000 Nassau County community development grant.

It hopes to receive support from service, fraternal and veterans’ organizations. The nonprofit also expects to run support groups and educational programs to enhance the lives of veterans and caregivers.

PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by a trauma whose symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, depression and confusion.
At an Oct. 28 press conference at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, Falco, 67, who walked point in 1969-70 near Danang with the Third Battalion, First Marine Division, said, “This is the greatest day of my life.”

On hand were representatives of the foundation, the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C., the County, and supporters and clinicians who have pledged to work with the foundation. The average cost of treating a veteran for PTSD is $8,900.
“We’re going to get this done,” Falco said. “One step at a time. We’re watching out for the booby traps and the trip wires. We’re going to bring our veterans back the way it should have been done a long time ago. I’ve always dreamed there could be a better way of doing this. It was a nightmare in terms of how veterans were treated when I came home. ”
The foundation’s vice president of operations, Navy veteran Jesse B. Cromer Jr., said, “Insurance will not pay for PTSD treatment unless it’s been diagnosed by a competent authority. We’ll try to get them the appropriate help. We’ve paid for treatment [for 15 veterans]… We’ve got to start generating more funds.”
Falco said Operation-Initiative is supporting The Band of Long Island concert to honor veterans at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12 at Landmark on Main Street’s Jeanne Rimsky Theater in Port Washington.

Veterans will be admitted free. General admission is $20, tickets for seniors and students are $15.
The foundation (www.operation-initiative.com) is the co-sponsor with the Glen Cove Rotary Club of a free resource manual for veterans and caregivers. Falco calls PTSD “an atrocity that has not been dealt with on a national or local level.”

Operation-Initiative favors holistic treatments for veterans suffering from PTSD or mild traumatic brain injury such as acupuncture, yoga, massage, reiki, aromatherapy and use of hyperbaric chambers.
Dr. Henry K. Prince, chief medical officer of Hyperbaric Medical Solutions (www.hyperbaricmedicalsolutions.com) of Woodbury, Medford and Manhattan, said he is offering free hyperbaric treatment for veterans; he is doing a study of his patients with the aim of convincing the VA to approve medical coverage for the treatment, which involves exposure to repeated doses of pure oxygen.

He said the therapy worked for his son, a West Point graduate who served two tours in Iraq. Prince said the therapy can relieve pressure on the brain stemming from concussive episodes such as proximity to an explosion.

He said hyperbaric treatment can reduce inflammation, increase the release of stem cells and stimulate production of blood vessels leading to better brain health.
Amy Mahoney, founder/director of Peaceful Minds of Farmingdale and Manhattan (www.peacefulmindsnyc.org), offers free acupuncture, reiki, massage therapy, yoga and meditation to combat veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

She said treatment is confidential and PTSD sufferers “are provided with immediate results. Most of them can’t believe it.” She said acupuncture can reduce pain and alleviate sleep disorders, anxiety and depression.
Yvette Vega, public relations director for Cedarhurst-based Neurobehavioral Research Inc. (www.nbrreasearch.com), which conducts clinical trials to develop more effective treatments for major psychiatric disorders, said “poor quality of sleep exacerbates daytime symptoms of PTSD” that can lead to suicide.

She said yoga, use of breathing techniques, exercise and meditation can improve the quality of sleep and the quality of life.
Keynote speaker Dr. Harold Kudler, chief consultant for mental health services for the VA in Washington, D.C., said acupuncture is covered by the VA and the VA is doing a study of hyperbaric treatment to see whether it should be covered.

Kudler said 20 veterans a day commit suicide and it is estimated that of that total, 14 are not receiving care from the VA. He said the 1.6 million veterans who do receive care from the VA are screened annually for PTSD and depression.

There are believed to be 198,000 veterans living on Long Island, including those in Brooklyn and Queens.
Kudler said VA officials recognize moral injury as a disorder distinct from PTSD that stems from a deployed soldier being asked to do or overlook something that goes against his moral code. “It’s a very important way to think about things,” Kudler said. “It’s the moral dilemmas in war that represent some of the biggest challenges” for clinicians.

Share this Article