Dr. Madhu Rajanna delivers an educational and insightful presentation about PTSD in returning veterans
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry hosted a very important event to help health care professionals effectively treat returning combat veterans living with mental health disorders.
The hospital in conjunction with the New York State Psychiatric Association and the Queens District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association hosted the Veterans Mental Health Primary Care Training Initiative on Thursday April 2nd. The auditorium in the D building was filled to capacity with hospital clinicians eager to learn more about the best practices to treat members of the military suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other mental health conditions.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of veterans suffer from combat- related mental illnesses but only 23-40% seek professional help, because mental illness is sadly and often stigmatized. The negative perceptions associated with mental illness can sometimes lead veterans to believe that they are weak or should be ashamed of seeking professional help.
In order to cope with the complications of mental illness, some veterans may self-medicate by using alcohol or narcotics and in extreme cases commit suicide instead of reaching out to a medical professional for help.
Assembly Member David I. Weprin addresses the room and commends the hospital on a job well done
Dr. Madhu Rajanna, Director of Jamaica Hospital’s Mental Health Clinic and Assistant Director of the Psychiatry Residency Training Program was the event’s main speaker. He conducted a dynamic presentation about the effective and compassionate means of communication health care professionals can utilize when gathering medical information from veterans. This collected information can be vital in assessing the mental health of service members. Dr. Rajanna was later followed by Assembly Member David I. Weprin who commended the department on their efforts for raising awareness on mental illnesses and congratulated the event organizers on a job well done.
Several staff members of the hospital such as Dr. Richard Pinsker, are also veterans and believe this training initiative was fundamental. According to Dr. Pinsker, “Attitudes towards PTSD and other mental illnesses are shifting in a positive direction; many are recognizing that the emotional and mental wounds can be as detrimental to our vets as the physical ones.”
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