Internationally recognized neuroscientist Dr. George Zitnay says he can offer hope for gravely injured war heroes by caring for them in Johnstown.
The co-founder of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center says soldiers with the most severe brain trauma face a bleak future under the current military and veterans’ hospital systems.
“They are the silent wounded warriors,” Zitnay said. “They are forgotten because they can’t speak for themselves.”
Zitnay said hundreds of military members who remain unable to function because of brain injuries could benefit from a specialized long-term care program he has proposed.
Zitnay was in Washington last week, where he asked Congress to fund a pilot center in the former Crichton Rehabilitation in-patient facility at Hiram G. Andrews Center in Upper Yoder Township.
“What I’m proposing is a state-of-the-art center with enhanced rehabilitation,” Zitnay said. “We’ll bring them in for six months to a year to see if we can rouse them.”
Those in a persistent vegetative state or in a minimally conscious state, as well as those with locked-in syndrome, are all candidates for the new program, he said.
Persistent vegetative state is described as wakefulness without awareness, while a patient in a minimally conscious state has distinguishable deliberate or cognitive behavior. Those with locked-in syndrome are fully conscious and responsive, but often can only blink or move their jaw.
“If they get placed in a typical nursing home, they don’t provide any active treatment,” Zitnay said. “Those guys can spend the next 40 years in hell.”
Active, intense rehabilitation efforts can help the wounded soldiers wake up and regain independence, he said.
His Project Hope proposal to Congress calls for a number of long-term care centers around the country to take care of those with debilitating brain injuries.
It is a similar model to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, which Zitnay co-founded in 1992.
Headquartered in Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the project is a collaboration of three military hospitals, four Veterans Affairs hospitals and two private rehabilitation programs. In October, Zitnay opened, and serves as director of, the newest private program, Laurel Highlands Neuro-Rehabilitation Center in Johnstown.
Laurel Highlands opened in October at 111 Roosevelt Blvd., offering outpatient rehabilitation, psychological treatment and counseling for veterans with brain injuries and mental health issues. There also is a therapy center, and participants engage in cognitive rehabilitation at a used bookstore at 138 Gazebo Park.
The first patient in its residential facility is expected this week.
Eventually, 75 percent of Laurel Highlands Neuro-Rehabilitation Center’s work will focus on those in the eight-unit residential facility, said Dr. Larry Rutledge, chief medical officer.
Local News
Doctor wants to build veterans brain center in Johnstown
- Local News
-
-
Proposed bill would expand use of traffic-light cameras
Some call it the hand of “big brother,” others are convinced cameras at signal lights would be effective in curbing red-light runners and ultimately saving lives.
-
Minister's trial date set
An issue has been resolved over the report from an examination of a girl allegedly taken by her mother to a Bedford motel to have sex with a traveling minister, clearing the way for a trial.
-
AP: Almost half of new veterans seek disability
America’s newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.
-
Geistown beginning crime watch program
Residents will patrol Geistown streets in the coming weeks as part of a community watch program.
-
Persons of the Week: Nanty Glo vets will remember fallen comrades
Michael Kurtz, Tom Kasecky and Steve Kasecky will be among members of the Loy A. Douglass Post 3489 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Nanty Glo who will be honoring fallen veterans today, Memorial Day.
-
AG candidates face potential conflicts of interest
Both candidates for Pennsylvania attorney general have family ties that could pose a conflict of interest for the one who is elected as the state’s next chief legal officer.
-
Lawmakers: Capitol rallies unpersuasive
Nancy Richey stepped to the podium with a microphone at the Capitol rotunda with the hope that the right people would hear her message.
-
Richland closer to new chief
The search for Richland’s next police chief is winding down.
-
In brief: Thunderstorm downs trees, knocks out power
A late Sunday afternoon thunderstorm brought high winds, hard rain and hail to the Cambria-Somerset region.
- District Deaths May 28, 2012
- More Local News Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
