Video conference on Rehabilitation of War Veterans

2010/03/01

DVC participants

On March 1st, the U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg and the Center of the Military History at the Liberal Arts University organized a digital video conference on physical and psychological rehabilitation of war veterans in the United States and Russia. American experts from the Washington DC VA Medical Center - Dr. Joel Scholten, Associate Chief of Staff for Rehab Services, and Dr. Stacey Pollack, Director of the Trauma Services Program, - informed the Urals colleagues how the Polytrauma System of Care works in the U.S. Dr. Scholten described four levels of care that guarantees the highest quality individually oriented help to veterans and active duty members with trauma or post-traumatic stress (PTS). Dr. Pollack presented on the system of evaluation and rehabilitation for veterans with traumatic brain injuries and PTS that included a wide range of methods from group sessions and family therapy to acupuncture and yoga.

The audience in Yekaterinburg, which consisted of psychologists, physical therapists, military historians, and journalists, was impressed by the comprehensive structure of the American rehabilitation clinics. Alexander Smirnov, Associate Professor of the Psychology of Development Department at the Urals State Pedagogical University, told about the Russian system of care for the veterans with the injuries and psychological disorders. The presentations stirred up a lively conversation when the participants discussed and compared the American and Russian approaches to evaluation of the PTS, services for the veterans living in the remote rural areas, public opinion on the treatment of war veterans, and many other issues. This intensive two-way dialogue streamed for a longer time that was planned for the video conference. The Russian participants commented that they were glad to find the common ground with their American colleagues. They believed that delivery of local services could be improved by examining areas where the approaches to care differed.