April 6 is the anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I. It’s also Army Day, a time to appreciate our national defense and support military preparedness. Nothing bolsters those two things better than a healthy, ready soldier force. GPO makes available several resources for warrior rehabilitation and transition professionals.
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Toolkit
In this U.S. Army Medical Department’s Borden Institute publication, rehabilitation professionals review the best research-driven treatment practices for concussions, or mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI). Recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan prompted the military’s rehabilitative community to advance care excellence for service members with mTBIs. Concussions are sustained on and off the battlefield, thus, post-concussive clinical guidance is ever more imperative. Although this work of clinicians and therapists is intended for clinicians and therapists, the research on balance, vision, post-traumatic headache, cognition, fitness and other functions is an education for non-medical types as well. This toolkit is evidence of “significant contributions to the recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration of Service Members who are symptomatic after sustaining an mTBI.” It’s an “Army strong” addition to the medical body of knowledge.
Warrior Transition Leader: Medical Rehabilitation Handbook
The U.S. Army has a comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration system for what it terms Warriors in Transition (WTs). In the words of the Warrior Transition Command mission, Army healthcare professionals “establish conditions for healing and promote the timely return to the force or transition to civilian life.” This Army medicine handbook charts the modern soldier rehabilitation practices. Several chapters address the essential topics of military-related disability rights, self-medication and suicide risks, assistive technologies, and resilience development. Accounts from real soldiers show that “wounded, injured, and ill” service member care is focused, collaborative, and innovative. Engagement of soldiers and family throughout transition and rehabilitation programs certifies this system’s world-class status.
A Shared Burden: The Military and Civilian Consequences of Army Pain Management Since 2001
According to author Craig Trebilcock, “the Army has an opioid drug problem.” It’s not a simply a matter of recreational misuse or delinquent soldiers. Prescription opioid pain medications do have a legitimate rehabilitative application. However, usage tracking is failing and knowledge gaps need patching up. This U.S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute paper gives Army leadership “a new way of thinking about…impact on combat readiness and civil-military relations.” A survey of senior officers reveals that greater opioid medication monitoring, training, and education is one strategy for consideration. Just as service doesn’t end when a solider becomes a veteran, medical monitoring and rehabilitation should accompany veterans for the long-term. To contravene the impact of opioid dependency on civilian society, military policy needs to proactively address this “shared burden.”
HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?
Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.
- Click here to purchase Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Toolkit
- Click here to purchase Warrior Transition Leader: Medical Rehabilitation Handbook
- Click here to purchase A Shared Burden: The Military and Civilian Consequences of Army Pain Management Since 2001
- Click here to purchase Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Combat Casualty Care in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom
- Click here to purchase “Some System of the Nature Here Proposed”: Joseph Lovell’s Remarks on the Sick Report, Northern Department, U.S. Army, 1817, and the Rise of the Modern US Army Medical Department
- Click here to browse our Borden Institute collection
Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.
Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.
Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.
About the author: Our guest blogger is Chelsea Milko, Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.