Nov. 6, 2019

Media Advisory: Veteran-focused Mental Health Forum

  • What: Open discussion on post traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and local support programs
  • When: Friday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-noon
  • Where: Jim Click Hall of Champions, 1766 E. University Blvd., Tucson

TUCSON, Ariz. — University of Arizona Veterans Education and Transition Services, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and My Veteran Passion are collaborating on the Mental Health Forum, an event designed to inform the public about issues veterans currently face as members of the community.

The Mental Health Forum is designed to be an open discussion on post traumatic stress, transitional stress, traumatic brain injury and local support programs. Experts from UArizona will be joined by speakers from the VA and My Veteran Passion, a new Arizona-based nonprofit started by UArizona alumnus Ramon Encinas to support suicide prevention efforts for veterans.

Among the UArizona experts speaking at the event are Linda Powers and Janet Meiling Roveda, both professors in the UArizona departments of electrical and computer engineering, and biomedical engineering. They will discuss their work as principal investigators of the National Science Foundation-funded Center to Stream Healthcare In Place, or C2SHIP. The center aims to develop techniques and mechanisms, including wearable sensors, to facilitate real-time interventions for a number of chronic diseases, such as PTSD.

Schedule of Events:

  • 10 a.m. – Presentation of colors and welcome by Cody Nicholls, assistant dean of students for military and veteran engagement
  • 10:15 a.m. – PTSD: Sandra Gallagher, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System
  • 10:30 a.m. – Transitional Stress: Dawn Wear, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System
  • 10:45 a.m. – TBI: Dr. Alexander Hishaw, UArizona departments of neurology and psychiatry
  • 11:10 a.m. – Sensory Programs: Linda Powers and and Janet Meiling Roveda, UArizona departments of biomedical engineering, and electrical and computer engineering
  • 11:30 a.m. – Transitional Help and Support: Mike Ramsey, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System
  • 11:50 a.m. – My Veteran Passion: Ramon Encinas, My Veteran Passion
     

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Media contacts:
Stacy Pigott
University Communications
Office: 520-626-4405 | Cell: 520-539-4152
spigott@arizona.edu

Emily Dieckman
College of Engineering
Office: 520-621-1992 | Cell: 760-981-8808
edieckman@email.arizona.edu
The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 25 in 2018 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $687 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 62 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually.