"Meeting the Needs of Returning Military Service Members," a symposium for primary care mental health professionals, will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, in the Student Community Center at Penn State Greater Allegheny. Presented by Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, the one-day information session is designed for primary care and behavioral health care professionals to improve understanding, assessment and treatment of the invisible wounds of war; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain-injury (TBI) patients. The information can be easily generalized to non-military patients as well. Continuing education credits will be awarded.
The fee for this conference is $45 per person, which includes instruction, handouts, refreshments and lunch. For more information, call JeanMarie Jacob at 412-675-9058, or send an e-mail to gace@psu.edu. A digital version of the symposium information packet is available at http://bit.ly/dXKRWf online; registration can be completed at http://bit.ly/g684ky online.
Symposium abstract:
Of all states, Pennsylvania has the highest number of National Guard or Reserve members deployed in military operations. Many of these Service members return to their primary care professionals in their civilian lives rather than utilize military health care systems; however, they have just as many long-term, combat-specific health issues as active duty military personnel. Meeting the needs and realities of military families is a vital support needed to maintain the resiliency of our service members and their families.