Ketamine Wellness Centers, Veterans Affairs Community Care Network Partner to Provide Free Treatments to Veterans With PTSD

New partnerships will allow veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, and chronic pain to access ketamine treatments at no out-of-pocket cost when other treatments have been unsuccessful, according to Ketamine Wellness Centers.

According to the press release, Ketamine Wellness Centers are partnering with the Veterans Affairs Community Care Networks (VA-CCN) of Illinois and Minnesota, and requests for more partnerships are anticipated nationwide to meet the growing needs of veterans. Ketamine Wellness Centers also offers a Hero Discount at clinics to cover partial out-of-pocket costs for military veterans and first responders not covered by the VA-CCN partnerships.

“We are honored to support these men and women who have selflessly served our country,” said Kevin Nicholson, CEO of Ketamine Wellness Centers, in the press release. “This partnership with the Illinois and Minnesota chapters of the VA Community Care Network is vital to veterans in these communities.”

More than 1.7 million veterans received some sort of treatment in a VA mental health specialty program in 2018, according to the press release. Furthermore, 1 in 10 American adults are diagnosed with PTSD, and even higher rates are found among military veterans and first responders. The percentage of veterans with PTSD also varies based on where they served, with Iraq veterans seeing PTSD rates between 11% and 20%; Gulf War and Desert Storm veterans seeing 12% PTSD rates; and 30% of Vietnam veterans reporting PTSD in their lifetime.

“Many of these remarkable people and their families turn to [Ketamine Wellness Centers] after a long, painful journey through disappointing ineffective treatments,” Nicholson said in the press release. “They are seeking effective, affordable therapies to help them get their lives back on track. We are continuing to work with VA-CCN to expand this initiative to our other locations so we can ensure veterans everywhere are supported and have the treatments they need.”

Researchers have found that PTSD damages synaptic connections in the brain that affect information flow and patterns of thought, and ketamine treatments can repair and improve these connections while also building new, healthy patterns. If left untreated or if traditional treatments fail, PTSD is unlikely to disappear and can contribute to chronic pain, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide. Damage can also reappear over time if treatment is stopped without other support strategies in place.

“Before we returned from combat, we were given something called Resiliency Training,” said Scott Raikkonen, a distinguished combat veteran who has worked with Ketamine Wellness Centers, in the press release. “This brief training is intended to help you adjust back to life at home, but for many of the men and women I served side-by-side with it was back at home where they lost the battle to chronic illness and suicide. Typical treatments often don’t work or, for many reasons may not be viewed as an option. Ketamine therapy is not a cure, but what it does it open you up to fully understanding the work of how to truly and safely come home.”

REFERENCE

Ketamine Wellness Centers Partners with Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care Network to Provide Free Ketamine Treatments to Veterans. News release. Ketamine Wellness Centers; October 15, 2021. Accessed November 5, 2021. https://www.ketaminewellnesscenters.com/va-community-care-network/