Helping the Guard when they get home

Illinois is the first state in the nation to launch a brain injury screening program for all its National Guard troops returning from combat and a 24-hour hot line to help veterans with battle-related stress.

The Illinois Warriors Assistance Program is designed to plug gaps at the federal level in care for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, state Department of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth said Tuesday.

The confidential hot line addresses the stigma that a veteran in crisis may want to avoid, Duckworth said.

"When he wakes up in the middle of the night, like I did for many nights, and you're shaking and it's 2 a.m., you can pick up that hot line and reach a clinician," she said.

Duckworth, an Iraq veteran who lost her legs in combat, and Gov. Rod Blagojevich launched the program Tuesday. The state has received phone calls from 27 other states interested in using the program as a model, she said.

The $8 million program will screen returning Guard troops for traumatic brain injury, known commonly as concussion, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The 10-minute screening will be mandatory for returning Illinois National Guard troops. It combines a clinician's observations with a series of questions about symptoms and combat experiences. It was designed by Dr. Felise Zollman, medical director of the brain injury program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Iraq veteran Sgt. Daniel Casara, a guardsman injured by a roadside bomb in 2005, said the hot line will help veterans.

"I wish there was a program like this for me," he said. "It's hard to go to sleep at night and then have to think about what happened. Those thoughts start to come over you … the lives that were lost. I lost two that night. They died right in front of me."

The extensive use of improvised explosive devices has caused thousands of brain injuries in Iraq and made diagnosing soldiers' problems more difficult than in previous wars, Duckworth said.

Earlier this month, a U.S. Army report said 10 percent to 20 percent of soldiers and Marines from tactical units leaving Iraq and Afghanistan are affected by mild traumatic brain injury. The most common cause was blast from an explosion.

Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, nausea, light sensitivity, sleep problems, memory problems, confusion and irritability. With treatment, more than 80 percent of patients recover completely, the task force said. Other military reports have cited significant gaps in psychological care to service members.

Illinois has deployed more than 9,000 Guard troops since the Sept. 11 attacks and another 3,000 now are preparing to go to Afghanistan, said Maj. Gen. William Enyart, commander of the Illinois National Guard.

The toll-free hot line is staffed by health professionals and is confidential. The number is 866-554-4927.

The program will help eligible veterans obtain state and federal health insurance and treatment, Duckworth said.