Chet Edwards For Congress

May 14, 2005
New PTSD To Focus On Waco VA, Fort Hood

Waco Tribune Herald
By Dan Genz | Tribune-Herald staff writer

Leaders in the fight to save the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital celebrated a rare expansion in the hospital's mission Friday morning.

Labeling the hospital a "national center for excellence in mental health," U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, announced the facility will likely host a new $3 million study of causes and possible treatments of post traumatic stress disorder.

The study would be conducted jointly with nearby Fort Hood where the 4th Infantry and 1st Cavalry are based. Both divisions have served in the ongoing war in Iraq.

Former Waco Mayor Linda Ethridge and a crowd of about 50 applauded the news on the hospital grounds Monday, nearly two weeks after a federally organized panel held its first meeting on future uses for the 127-acre hospital.

"I think that moves us closer to the community goal of keeping the hospital here and open and providing mental health care services in Waco for our veterans," Ethridge said of Edwards' announcement.

Edwards said the study would seek to "better understand the root causes of PTSD and develop enhanced screening techniques while working toward new and improved treatments."

The money is included in the 2006 VA budget which Edwards' Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee passed this week. Though the plan remains several steps from final passage, Edwards voiced confidence it will become reality.

Edwards said the project can improve benefits for servicemen and women across the country while boosting the hospital at a crucial time. He said the project also signals Congress does not want the hospital closed.

"The subcommittee recognized the Waco VA is a national center for excellence in mental health," Edwards said. "The Waco VA Hospital's expertise in treating post traumatic stress disorder should be utilized as soldiers from nearby Fort Hood return to civilian life after serving in Iraq."

Edwards and others hope to enhance the Waco VA Hospital mission as a specialized center for mental health and PTSD treatments amid federal scrutiny of the hospital's cost, importance and future.

Initially targeted for closure, then downsizing, the Waco hospital is now under study by a panel of federal officials and Waco civic leaders, assigned by VA Secretary Jim Nicholson to craft future uses for the hospital.

Edwards' committee also increased the VA budget by 9 percent over last year and required that 20 percent of the VA's $397 million research budget focus on mental health, amounting to almost $80 million.

The research budget could result in further Waco studies in the future.

Local veterans leader Bill Mahon said the Waco VA facility is one of the best PTSD sites in the nation and that more research at the campus could help Americans beyond those with military backgrounds.

"PTSD doesn't just affect veterans but everyone they come in contact with," Mahon said.