Courtesy Photo | Licensed Clinical Social Worker Symeon Burholt conducts a Whole Health class at the...... read more read more
DECATUR, Ga. – The Atlanta VA Medical Center (VAMC) began its 12th 10-week education and therapy program designed to improve the quality of life for veterans with chronic pain.
The Empower Veterans Program (EVP) was established in FY14 following a $2 million grant by the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Southeast Region (VISN7) to VHA’s Stepped Approach to Pain Management.
Pain is real, no matter its source, and veterans with chronic pain deserve better care. For the past 15 years to help manage chronic pain, various opioid medications, commonly referred to as narcotics, have been the mainstay of management for patients with chronic pain. However, long-term use of opioids, even in small amounts, can be too risky for many patients, said Dr. Michael Saenger, director of Atlanta VAMC’s Empower Veterans Program.
“In addition certain types of pain, such as low back pain, may be “opioid resistant,” and long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) can even worsen other kinds of pain like migraines and fibromyalgia,” Saenger said.
To address these risks, VHA launched the Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI) nationwide in late 2013. OSI is a comprehensive effort to improve the safety and quality of life for the hundreds of thousands of veterans suffering from chronic pain. The OSI directs each Primary Care teamlet to review medications and if needed, make gradual adjustments for safety of the patient.
EVP consists of three-hour sessions each week for 10 weeks where 12 veterans learn as a group to meet each individual’s whole health and wellness goals through coaching by a team of behavioral health therapists, chaplains, and physical therapists. EVP’s goals are for each veteran to experience and practice new ways of thinking and acting, to make steps toward their own goals in life, and not feel “stuck” in chronic pain.
Twenty-four veterans have graduated the program since its inception in January 2015, to include eight veterans in March from Atlanta VAMC’s East Point site of care. The latest Empower Veteran Program class began June 19, 2015, at the new Atlanta Clinic—which is the latest addition to Atlanta VAMC’s 14 sites of care and will be officially dedicated at a July 10, 2015, ceremony.
For more information on this program or how to enroll please contact Natasha Ewell at 404-229-3978 or 404-321-6111, ext 1-3344.
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Atlanta VA Medical Center (VAMC), a Joint Commission and Magnet®-designated medical facility sits on 26 acres in Decatur, Georgia—just minutes from downtown Atlanta. The main medical center is a level 1A tertiary care facility providing patient-centered healthcare via an array of comprehensive medical, surgical, geriatric specialty services, as well as state-of–the-art diagnostic testing throughout 14 sites of care. With 445 inpatient beds, including a 120-bed Community Living Center, a 40-bed domiciliary, and a 12-bed Residential Treatment Program, the Atlanta VAMC is uniquely positioned to serve the healthcare needs of more than 130,000 enrolled Veterans living in 50 counties across northeast Georgia. The Medical Center, also a teaching hospital, provides hands-on and state-of-the-art technology, education and research to residents in collaboration with Emory University School of Medicine and Morehouse School of Medicine.
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2015 13:55 |
| Story ID: | 167344 |
| Location: | DECATUR, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 245 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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