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DEAN’S MESSAGE
tion, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of combat-related and our EM department also has two active DoD-funded projects
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related conditions in working on life-saving battlefield technology, as well as several
active-duty military personnel and recently discharged veterans. other joint research programs in various states of development.
The program is led by Alan Peterson, PhD, who retired from We also are conducting trauma and related research in many other
the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, and is chief of the division areas and departments, including the departments of surgery and
of behavioral medicine in the Department of Psychiatry. neurosurgery, who also partner with other branches of the mili-
STRONG STAR brings together a world-class team of military, tary, DoD and VA.
civilian and VA institutions and investigators from across the
country to address this crucial issue. There are joint programs with the School of Dentistry that in-
clude a master’s degree in dental sciences, with multiple specialties
STRONG STAR is very deliberately based in Central Texas, as well as partnering in endodontics, periodontics and oral maxillo
which, with South Texas, contains one of the largest concentra- facial surgery. Dr. Kenneth Hargreaves, DDS, PhD, who is chair
tions of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/Operation Enduring of the Department of Endodontics, oversees a research program
Freedom (OEF)/Operation New Dawn (OND) veterans, as well focused on non-narcotic management of pain. With many service
as the DoD’s largest military medical complex, state-of-the-art members in need of pain medications to deal with injuries, highly
trauma research facilities and other well-established military, VA addictive medications run the risk of introducing new problems
and civilian institutional collaborations. This means STRONG beyond the physical injuries and PTSD. Studies with non-nar-
STAR investigators’ expertise and innovative treatment programs cotic treatments are now under way with military burn patients.
are helping where they are needed most and can be optimized. Another study through our Research to Advance Community
Health (ReACH) Center focuses on primary care and peer sup-
Trauma is another important area where we have a robust col- port to improve function and pain control in veterans suffering
laboration. The San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) from chronic pain. Principal investigator is ReACH director Bar-
and University Hospital are both Level 1 trauma centers and part- bara Turner, MD, James D. and Ona I. Dye Professor of Medi-
ner in many ways. Bruce Adams, MD, chair of the Department cine. The ReACH research is another illustration of how many
of Emergency Medicine (EM), is a 27-year Army veteran who different areas there are here working on similar issues. Previous
served as a flight surgeon for special operations. His leadership to the MHI, principal investigators/researchers had no effective
has been crucial in the rapid growth and the strength of the EM way to know that other, related programs existed.
department and its excellent integration with the military. Our
collaborations include the SAMMC emergency medicine physi- The School of Nursing has many active-duty and retired stu-
cians working and teaching at the SOM and working in the Uni- dents in their undergraduate and graduate programs, and a
versity Hospital emergency room. The SOM is also a primary unique track that takes enlisted military members as nursing
training site for both their emergency medicine residents as well students who then become officers or are eligible to become of-
as their EM physician assistants, and we train a variety of their ficers upon graduation. Dr. Penny Flores, assistant professor
nurses, medics and allied health students. We also regularly hold of nursing, also has a program focused on the unique physical
joint workshops at Brooke Army Medical Center and SAMMC, and emotional challenges in the care for active-duty and former
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visit us at www.bcms.org 33
