A New Partnership in The Villages Puts Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to Work for Veterans with PTSD
The Tampa-based non-profit Koterra looks to technology to address dire need for treatments and prevent veteran suicides.
Florida High Tech CorridorTHE VILLAGES — As neuroscientists around the world, and particularly in the Florida High Tech Corridor Region, explore the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat brain injuries and conditions like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a new partnership between Aviv Clinics and the non-profit Koterra is creating hope for veterans who suffer from the invisible wounds of war.
On July 1 at the Aviv Clinics location in The Villages, the partnership with Koterra, which works to provide access to veterans to evidence-based treatments for mental health challenges and brain injuries, was announced with the goal of providing greater access to the treatment. The Villages location of Aviv Clinics is one of only two locations in the world that offer the therapy; the other is in Dubai.
Under this new alliance, Aviv Clinics provides individualized care for Koterra-sponsored veterans. Koterra has helped fund treatment for 10 veterans and another 10 more are on a waitlist. Florida has the third largest veteran population in the nation, with over 1.4 million veterans, and about 5% of the veteran population struggles with PTSD.
“We’re trying to stop the generational suffering in veteran families,” said Koterra founder Patti Brady, a longtime veterans’ advocate. “This science works, and we owe it to those who served to give them access.”
Brady’s work on behalf of veterans dates back more than two decades and she previously served on the State of Maryland Advisory Board for Veterans Services, specifically for homeless and suicide prevention. That’s where she met Corridor CEO Paul A. Sohl, a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral who was commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland.
“What I’ve learned in the innovation world is the magic happens when you put these teams together,” Sohl told the Aviv Clinics gathering.
Developed in Israel and now the standard of care there for PTSD, advanced hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) — combined with cognitive and physical training and nutrition counseling — is increasingly the subject of scientific research and research studies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved of the therapy for conditions like PTSD or as a treatment for brain injuries and insurance companies do not cover the costs.
Dion Atchison, Aviv’s chief operating officer and the global director of clinical operations, also is a West Point graduate who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Our goal is to help the community here in Central Florida, but also bring veterans from around the country to receive the benefit of this treatment,” he said. “We want to deepen our research, so it’s important that we treat more veterans and we’re able to capture the results of those treatment and really scientifically show the benefit.”
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized environment to fill the blood with enough oxygen that allows repair to the brain function and structure changes caused by PTSD. “It’s not just a psychological condition,” said Dr. Mohammed Elamir, the lead physician at Aviv Clinics. “PTSD is a physiological injury to the brain, and if we heal the brain, we can heal the disease.”
The promise of better treatment through oxygen therapy is taking root in the wider Corridor region. Last year, USF Health welcomed its first participants of a $28 million state-funded clinical trialto study the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on Florida service members and veterans who suffer from traumatic brain injury. The project is recognized nationally as one of the most rigorous studies of its kind with long-term results that could reshape understanding of hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a treatment of neurological diseases.
The five-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, led by the USF Health Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, is taking place in the state-of-the-art Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center in Tampa. The research is a collaborative effort involving USF Health, the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and other community partners.
Brady says veterans seeking the treatment from more traditional health care institutions are often told there is not enough research to back up the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, so the Aviv Clinic partnership with Koterra also seeks to add to the data and scientific knowledge of the therapy’s effectiveness.
At Aviv Clinics, the treatment involves spending two hours a day, five days a week, inside a pressurized hyperbaric oxygen suite for 12 weeks. By delivering alternating levels of oxygen under pressure, the therapy stimulates the body’s production of stem cells which provide a natural healing response and increases blood flow, doctors say. Patients also participate in a personalized nutrition and exercise program; progress is documented through brain imaging.
Norman Moser, who sustained multiple traumatic brain injuries during his 40 years of military service. Battling severe suicidal ideation, Moser came to Koterra in search of lasting healing and found it through treatment at Aviv. At the July 1 partnership event, Moser told the audience that his cognitive function, sleep, anxiety and physical endurance have dramatically improved. “You can see it and I can feel it,” Moser said of his improved overall health. “I have hundreds of buddies who are like, ‘Man, as soon as we can get the funding, put me in there.'”
If you or a veteran you know is struggling with PTSD, help is available:
- Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988 then Press 1, or text 838255, to connect with qualified responders.
- Florida Veterans Support Line: Call 1-844-MyFLVet (1-844-693-5838) or dial 211.