Pitt, UPMC host veterans conference

As an eight-year combat veteran with the U.S. Marine Corps, Lee Wagner knows how hard it can be to transition from active military duty to civilian life.

Now, as a veterans to bachelor of science academic coach at Duquesne University, Wagner helps guide former military members with medical experience into a civilian nursing career.

As the world remembers 9/11 this week, Wagner was one of several presenters speaking at The Veteran’s Journey to Achieving Wellness: Successful Reintegration into Civilian Life conference in the David Lawrence Convention Center to focus on improving health care treatment for veterans.

UPMC, UPMC’s Neurotrauma Clinical Trials Center, Pitt’s Office of Veterans Services, Pitt’s School of Nursing, U.S. Army Health Care and West Virginia University are all co-sponsoring the two-day event for health care providers who work with veterans. The organizations are hosting the conference from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 10 and 11.

More than 200,000 active service members will transition to civilian communities in the next five years, according to the conference’s website. The transition is difficult­, as veterans face high rates of homelessness, unemployment and depression. The conference is meant to address these challenges and prepare health care providers for veteran-specific issues.

The event includes speakers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Pitt, Duquesne, the Army and care facilities. Jacqueline Dunbar-Jacob, dean of Pitt’s School of Nursing, kicked off the event on Friday morning.

During his presentation, Wager said his own service, from 1995 to 2003 in the U.S. Marine Corps, allows him to personally connect with his students.

“Because of the common brotherhood/sisterhood mentality of veterans, many students share things with me that they don’t share with other veteran care professionals,” Wagner said.

According to Kelly Shaffer, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications for Pitt’s School of Nursing, about 100 veterans, active duty military personnel, health care providers and educators were at the conference Thursday.

Shaffer said the purpose of the event is to “give health care providers tools to deal with the people [veterans] they will be treating over the next five to 10 years.”

Many veterans and active duty military persons in the audience passionately shook their heads in agreement when presenters provided examples of mental health struggles that veterans face as they readjust to civilian life, like isolation and suicidal thoughts.

Patricia Kelley is the former executive director of the TriService Nursing Research Program, whose mission is to facilitate research that will optimize health care for military members and their families. Kelley, who’s now a professor at Duquesne University, presented a comprehensive approach to health care that sees the patient from injury all the way through the recovery process.

Victor Wong, a clinical psychologist at VA Pittsburgh Health Care System, spoke about combat stress and post-traumatic stress readjustment for veterans.

Wong focused on the difference in processing experiences and attempting to manage memories for each patient.

Even when dealing with individuals who experienced the same event, Wong said it is important to realize that “every person’s experience is not the same.”

Sean Britt, a readjustment counseling therapist at the McKeesport Vet Center, has been with the VA for 11 years.

“Our mission is to reintegrate veterans into civilian life,” Britt said.

There are 152 veteran centers in the country run through the VA and more than 1,000 community-based outpatient clinics, community living centers, Vet Centers and Domiciliaries. All of these facilities help more than 8 million veterans per year, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Mobile Vet Center — one of 50 super-sized, bleach-white trailers across the country utilized to provide information about Veteran Affairs services and counseling — was parked outside of the convention center as part of the conference on Friday. The mobile vet center is designed to make it easier for people living in rural communities to receive necessary health care.

Anthony Reitz, a readjustment counseling technician at the Erie Vet Center who drives the mobile vet center, said there are 70 mobile vet centers which travel to veteran-centric events across the country.

“There are much more services available for veterans’ mental health struggles than the public is aware of,” Wong said. “Mental health stigma is a major barrier to care and it really needs to be addressed.”