Rush Brings New Full-Spectrum Mental Health Care Option to our Veterans
For two years, Rush University Medical Center has been working with Prevail Health Solutions under a series of National Science Foundation grants to lay the groundwork for the Vets PrevailSM program, a new way of bringing mental health support to US Military Veterans. Now, with the generous support of Goldman Sachs Gives, the Robin Hood Foundation and PepsiCo, Rush has teamed up with Give an HourTM (GAH) for a national roll-out of Vets Prevail. This launch combines the Vets Prevail online program featuring dynamic, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based e-learning lessons and peer-to-peer support with free face-to-face counseling provided by GAH’s network of over 6,000 mental health professionals. The Veterans Administration plans on collaborating in this effort by facilitating intelligent routing from the Vets Prevail platform into a number of established Veterans Health Administration resources. The result is a full-spectrum mental health solution that is easily accessible, stigma-free and complements the Veterans Administration and Department of Defense systems.
The Rush initiative launched in December 2011, and will last a minimum of 12 months. The goal is to overcome the barriers of stigma and accessibility to reach at least 15,000 Veterans and make a significant impact on the epidemic of military mental health issues. Change and recovery is possible, and Vets Prevail is a tool that can help fulfill this promise for our returning Veterans. It is a best-in-class, scalable solution with capacity and reach far beyond any traditional mental health offering, at a fraction of the cost.
About Vets Prevail
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Rush University Medical Center is a not-for-profit academic medical center with more than 170 years of history in developing innovative treatments. Today, it is a thriving center for clinical research, with physicians and scientists involved in hundred of research projects developing and testing the effectiveness and safety of new therapies and medical devices. The Vets Prevail Program is in line with Rush's desire to expand its activities in preventative care and its ever growing commitment to Veterans programs. Dr. Stevan Hobfoll, Chair of the Rush Department of Behavioral Sciences and an international expert in the effects of military stress and trauma, was integral to the development of Vets Prevail, and his department provides ongoing clinical oversight.
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Goldman Sachs Gives is a donor-advised fund - a public charity that maintains individual accounts for donors who recommend grants to qualified non-profit organizations from their accounts. Established in 2007, Goldman Sachs Gives enables Goldman Sachs and its people to leverage their donations to charities in the communities where they live and work, or elsewhere around the globe. The focus of this contribution is on those areas that have been proven to be fundamental to creating jobs and economic growth, building and stabilizing communities, honoring service and veterans and increasing educational opportunities. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs Gives announced a new $20 million, five year commitment to fund a network of nonprofits helping wounded and disabled veterans return to civilian life. The partnership with Vets Prevail will be an important part of that coalition.
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The Veteran Health Administration is home to the United States' largest integrated health care system consisting of 152 medical centers and nearly 1,400 community-based outpatient clinics, community living centers, Vet Centers and Domiciliaries. Together these health care facilities and the more than 53,000 independent licensed health care practitioners who work within them provide comprehensive care to more than 8.3 million Veterans each year. Always searching for new ways to support the mental and emotional health of Veterans, the VHA hopes to facilitate the creation of valuable links between the program and existing VA resources.
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The Robin Hood Foundation, a public charity, targets poverty in New York City, touching the lives of more than 650,000 low-income New Yorkers. Relying on its own data-drive system for measuring impact, Robin Hood invested over $110 million in over 200 community-based organizations in 2010. It also provided these partners extensive technical assistance. Robin Hood works with a coalition of federal, state and city agencies and a cohort of nonprofit organizations on an initiative to connect low-income veterans to supportive housing, job-training programs, health care, counseling and other services to ease their transition to civilian life. Vets Prevail is a key partner in this initiative, contributing its expertise in serving the yawning mental-health needs of returning veterans.
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Give an Hour is a nonprofit 501(c) (3), founded in September 2005 by Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a psychologist in the Washington, D.C., area. The organization’s mission is to develop national networks of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic mental health conditions that arise within our society. To date, GAH has developed a network of over 5,000 mental health professionals willing to donate at least an hour of their time each week to provide free mental health services to military Service Members and Veterans. This represents the world’s premier network of volunteer mental health providers. GAH’s professionals provide counseling to individuals, couples and families, and children and adolescents, offering treatment for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, sexual health and intimacy concerns, and loss and grieving.
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Pepsi has contributed to the Vets Prevail effort through its Pepsi Refresh Project. The Pepsi Refresh Project has given away millions to fund innovative ideas with the promise of making a positive impact on the community, regional or national level. Grants are awarded through public voting, and Vets Prevail was selected for an award in the largest tier.
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Additional Information
For a short white paper on the mental health problems facing our military and the Vets Prevail/Give an Hour solution, click the icon below.
For more information please contact partnerships@vetsprevail.org.
