Study commission seeks to survey all NH veterans

CONCORD, N.H.A commission created to study post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury among New Hampshire veterans is distributing a new survey around the state, while also using new mapping tools to generate policy questions it hopes will lead to better treatment and services.

The commission, which was created by the Legislature last year, has focused so far on collecting data about veterans from the agencies that serve them. But aside from statistics provided by the VA Medical Center in Manchester, there wasn't a lot of data to collect, said Jo Moncher, the commission's chairwoman and head of community based military programs for the state Department of Health and Human Services. And while those returning from deployment go through extensive screenings, they might not always be honest because they are so eager to just get home, she said.

In hopes of getting better information from the veterans themselves, the group worked with the UNH Survey Center to develop an 11-question survey that will be distributed at conferences, agencies serving veterans and other locations around the state. It also is available online at http://www.nh-veteran.com.

"Today is a beginning," Moncher said. "We are not here to answer the questions and solve the problems."

The commission has been working with the federal Military Families Strategic Initiative to create maps combining national estimates with New Hampshire data -- a tool that will get policymakers talking about where to focus their efforts. For example, a map showing the distribution of veterans from different wars across the state raised questions Friday about whether college students from other states were included.

According the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the state's Citizens Soldier Support Program, New Hampshire's total veteran population is 126,111, with 5,769 people deployed since Sept. 11, 2001. Of those deployed since 9/11, 816 have been treated for PTSD at the VA Medical Center, which puts the state in line with national estimates, and 239 have been treated for traumatic brain injuries.

Brain injuries are particularly difficult to diagnose, said Dr. Dan Potenza, who has worked with veterans through community mental health centers and in his current post at the New Hampshire Department of Corrections.

Blast waves from grenades and land mines can create pressure on the skull and cause brain injuries even when there has been no direct contact with shrapnel, he said. And electrical charges created by that pressure can damage nerve fibers in the brain, causing memory disturbances, headaches, and impulsivity, he said. But those injuries don't show up on standard medical imaging tests.

Potenza described one veteran who said he felt like his moods and actions were being controlled by a light switch with someone else's hand on it.

"Give me a dimmer," he said. "Find me a dimmer I can put my hand on."

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Study commission seeks to survey all NH veterans