Praise Mounts for Tuberville’s HBOT Access Act

 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the HBOT Access Act to make Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) an available resource for veterans suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), who have tried no fewer than two evidence-based treatment options, and whom the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of Veterans Affairs has determined are at a high-risk of suicide or self-harm. 

 

When speaking about the HBOT Access Act, Senator Tuberville said, “We all want to do everything we can to help our veterans; it is a part of our American values and sense of patriotism. For veterans that have exhausted other options, access to HBOT treatment could be a lifeline to seeing another day. We have nothing to lose, but we do have lives to save.”

 

Support for the HBOT Access Act continues to grow, including from the American Legion; Patriot Angels; and Joey Jones, Combat Wounded Marine Corps Veteran and Fox News Contributor and Host.

 

 

“The American Legion is pleased to support S.2189 – the HBOT Access Act. Addressing veteran mental health means ensuring veterans have access to as many evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments as possible. Throughout the years, The American Legion has heard from veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) about the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in treating their mental health disorders. Which is why we have supported the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the private sector in their efforts to expand access to treatment. The HBOT Access Act will achieve this by requiring VA to refer veterans with TBI or PTSD, who are at a high risk for suicide, and have already tried two CAM treatments to a participating HBOT clinic. We thank Senator Tuberville for his efforts to decrease barriers to mental health treatment for veterans,” said Bill Oxford, National Commander of The American Legion.

“The selfless men and women who give everything to preserve our country’s freedom and the lives of our citizens deserve to have every available health care option to save their own lives. Wartime veterans return home with physical, mental, and emotional scars that are debilitating and difficult, if not impossible, to live with. Veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after war are more likely to be at high risk of suicide and self-harm. Even one veteran suicide is too many. Veterans need to have the option for additional medical resources if they have exhausted other treatment options. Myself and Victoria Collier, Co-Owner of Patriot Angels and a veteran of the United States Air Force (1989 – 1995) and United States Army Reserve (2001-2004) support veterans having access to HBOT to combat the veteran suicide epidemic. As advocates for wartime veterans, Patriot Angels is in full support of the Bill introduced by Senator Tuberville whereby the VA would furnish veteran’s access to HBOT to save their own lives after they have ensured the safety of ours,” said Suzette Graham, CEO and Founder of Patriot Angels. 

 

“For more than a decade my brothers and sisters have returned from war with injuries they couldn’t see and barely understood. For many years I have worked to help heal them and find peace. Throughout this time I have seen two things to be true, traditional treatment offered by the VA has failed them, and every veteran I know who has received HBOT has reported a measurable positive outcome and believes the treatment to be instrumental in their recovery. At some point, members of Congress have to have the courage to do a small thing for our veterans that could provide a big result in their lives,” said Joey Jones, Combat Wounded Marine Corps Veteran and Fox News Contributor and Host.

 

 

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