The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Citizen Soldier Support Program is recruiting behavioral and rehabilitative health service providers to participate in a new database that will help returning combat veterans and their families.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Citizen Soldier Support Program is recruiting behavioral and rehabilitative health service providers to participate in a new database that will help returning combat veterans and their families.
The Web-based searchable database is part of a refocused effort by the program to enhance behavioral health resources available to National Guard and Reserve members and their families before, during and after deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The database, located at www.ncwarwithin.org, aims to help veterans and family members find civilian health providers who better understand the challenges of military deployment-related issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression and suicide, said William Abb, deputy program director. So far, the Citizen Soldier program has trained more than 2,000 providers to work with veterans and their families.
The recruiting effort seeks health service providers who are:
- Located within 30 minutes of veterans and their families.
- Receptive to improving their knowledge through evidence-based continuing education.
- Willing to participate in TRICARE, the federal insurance program for military personnel.
Interested providers should visit www.ncwarwithin.org and access the health providers tab to complete their enrollment information. The database is accessible to providers, veterans and their families, but Abb said the search results would change significantly during the recruitment process.
The UNC program’s goal is to identify a minimum of three providers in all 100 North Carolina counties. The N.C. Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), based at the University’s School of Medicine, are also helping identify civilian providers. AHEC works with nine regional centers to bring health sciences faculty and students to North Carolina communities to provide care and services.
For more information, visit http://www.citizensoldiersupport.org/
Contact: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu