Nebraska has joined the growing list of states calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to address the alarming suicide crisis among veterans through legislation.
On April 9,LR293was adopted with little national fanfare, receiving a unanimous vote of43-0. But why is this Resolution deserving of being recognized nationally? Because it “[urges] the United States Congress to swiftly enact legislation to provide for veterans’ access to treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”
The general public is largely unaware that Nebraska has become the fourteenth state to call for action from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to tackle the suicide crisis affecting veterans. Other states include Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Wyoming, Maryland, Virginia, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Missouri.
Introduced to the state legislature by Nebraska Senator Kathleen Kauth, LR293 explicitly requests that Congress pass laws to ensure veterans have access to treatments, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). In its most basic terms, HBOT is a therapeutic procedure that requires patients to inhale pure oxygen within a pressurized chamber, enabling the lungs to absorb up to twelve times the amount of oxygen compared to regular air pressure.
The Gateway Pundit spoke to Robert Beckman, the co-founder and executive director ofTreatNOW.org, an organization that has effectively utilized hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to address TBI, PTSD, and concussion for 18 years. He explained, “HBOT is linked to near total reductions in suicidal ideation and depression and has improved memory, attention, and overall quality of life.”
Like LR293, Beckman calls on Congress to ensure that veterans have access to treatments for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This includes support forH.R.1336,the Veterans National Traumatic Injury Treatment Act; and any other legislation aimed at enhancing or authorizing access to essential therapies and counseling, as well as promoting research and development of new treatment options.
H.R.1336, in particular, requires the VA to “implement a five-year pilot program to furnish, under the Veterans Community Care Program, hyperbaric oxygen therapy to veterans with traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Beckman asserted, “Legislators need to pass legislation for treatments with some teeth, like HBOT, rather than those merely masking symptoms.” According to him, “drugs and talk therapy have proven inadequate to stem the veteran suicide epidemic.” All the while, he said, “both the VA and the Department of War continue to rely on them merely to cover up the symptoms of brain wounds—at a time when they require an effective treatment.”
HBOT is supported by decades of research, he said. “At least 28 clinical trials have demonstrated its safety and effectiveness in treating and healing brain wounds.” What’s more, he shared, “HBOT helps patients get off their drugs.”
In his opinion, “This is why Congress should take Nebraska’s urging and fund a treatment that will actually heal veterans.”
Source: The Gateway Pundit
