The Home Depot Foundation Awards $1.5 Million to NYU Langone Medical Center to Help Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury
Gift Funds the Establishment of a Multisite, Integrated Mental Health Network Led by NYU Langone's Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center
NEW YORK, July 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Continuing its commitment to improving the lives of our nation's veterans, The Home Depot® Foundation has donated $1.5 million to help NYU Langone Medical Center launch the first mental health consortium of its kind in New York City dedicated to improving the diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Specifically, the funding will allow the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center at NYU Langone to spearhead the establishment of the Greater New York City Military Family Clinic Consortium Coordinating Center, with the principal mission being to create an integrated mental healthcare network of academic medical centers that provide mental health services to veterans and their families. In addition to NYU Langone and its Cohen Veterans Center, the consortium will include Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College, all of which have affiliations with the U.S. Veterans Administration.
The Consortium Coordinating Center will oversee the integration of treatment services, care standardization and staff training for a network of clinics – sponsored by the member institutions of the consortium – that treat veterans with PTS and TBI. The Coordinating Center also will evaluate clinical outcomes and coordinate concomitant research initiatives.
"The neurological and mental health needs of returning veterans are vast, with many experiencing multiple emotional problems resulting from PTS and TBI," says Charles R. Marmar, MD, the Lucius N. Littauer Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Langone, director of its Cohen Veterans Center, and director of the newly-established Greater New York City Military Family Clinic Consortium Coordinating Center. "Nearly one-third of the 15,000 veterans who live in the New York City area are plagued by these and other mental health challenges, which also affects their families."
"Collaboration with researchers and clinicians at other academic medical centers is critical to accelerating efforts to identify objective biological mechanisms that underlie neuropsychiatric conditions like PTS and TBI," added Dr. Marmar. "Ultimately, through this effort we hope to have in place a coordinated mental health consortium that will provide veterans and their families with integrated, evidenced-based care. Generous support from organizations like The Home Depot Foundation and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation – who put our veterans first – make all of this possible."
In announcing the gift, Gaven Gregory, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation said: "This consortium, comprised of some of the greatest academic medical centers in New York, will extend the amazing work already underway. Once we get closer to identifying objective biomarkers that can advance the diagnosis and treatment of PTS and TBI, we will be able to develop better treatments tailored to the individual. Our veterans deserve all we can do to improve their lives after service to our country."
About Giving Back at The Home Depot:
Since the first Home Depot store opened in 1979, giving back has been a core value for the company and a passion for its associates. Today, The Home Depot, in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation, focuses its philanthropic efforts on improving the homes and lives of U.S. military veterans and their families and aiding communities affected by natural disasters. Through Team Depot, the Company's associate-led volunteer force, thousands of associates dedicate their time and talents to these efforts in the communities where they live and work.
Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has invested more than $85 million to provide safe housing to veterans, and along with the help of Team Depot volunteers, has transformed more than 17,000 homes for veterans. To learn more and see Team Depot in action, visit www.homedepot.com/teamdepot.
About the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veteran Center at NYU Langone:
The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center was established in 2013 through a major, founding gift from the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation. The mission of the Cohen Veterans Center is twofold: to conduct research to identify objective biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of PTS and TBI through the Cohen Center for the Study of Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury; and to provide free mental health services to veterans and their families through its Military Family Clinic at NYU Langone and in partnership with the U.S. Veterans Administration New York Harbor Healthcare System. The Military Family Clinic fills a significant gap in healthcare services by providing free mental health care to military family members and veterans regardless of discharge status or era served.
Media Inquiries:
Deborah (DJ) Haffeman
NYU Langone Medical Center
(212) 404-3567
[email protected]
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SOURCE NYU Langone Medical Center
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