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Posted: Thursday, 09 April 2009 9:17AM
Treating the Invisible Wounds of War
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LOS ALTOS (CBS 5) ― In a corner of Shoup Park in Los Altos, a statue honors the U.S. military. The soldier's bandaged arm is a reminder of the sacrifices of service. But for Los Altos doctor Jerome Blum, it's the wounds you don't see that concern him. He calls them invisible wounds, and they are a signature of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Twenty percent of returning vets coming back from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan have traumatic brain injuries and or post traumatic stress disorders," Dr. Blum explains. "And it's happening more and more for a very big reason: we're having more survivors from this war than ever before."
A Navy veteran and long-time opthamologist in Santa Clara, Dr. Blum has always been one to get involved. He campaigned for Harry Truman back in med school. In 1993, he worked on Hilary Clinton's health care reform team. But it wasn't until he joined the congressional campaign of an Iraq war veteran, Tammy Duckworth, that he became passionate about the need for psychological screening and treatment for returning vets.
Dr. Blum says symptoms not treated early can be devastating.
"After they come home, they have a difficult time finding a job, they can't focus they have learning disabilities, they have headaches. You are dealing with a delayed effect and the only way to accomplish and diagnose this is through preventive care by screening."
So Dr. Blum sent his ideas about universal screening to the state capitol, where it didn't get much response until it landed on the desk of his state senator, Joe Simitian.
"It was very compelling," Simitian remembers. "He really conveyed both in his letter, and when he came to the capitol, that this was the least we could do."
Simitian entered Dr. Blum's letter in his "There Oughta be a Law Contest" and out of over 400 entries, his won.
"I almost fainted!" Dr. Blum says with a laugh. "Because I never win a contest!"
By the end of 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger had signed Senate Bill No. 1401 into law.
Simitian says, "The California Department of Veterans Affairs, The California National Guard are now obliged as a matter of state law to make sure when young men and women come back from Afghanistan and Iraq, they know about traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress syndrome, and they know that there are options out there for them; that there's help."
And that's thanks to Dr. Blum. So for bringing attention to a devastating consequence of war, this week's Jefferson Awards in the Bay Area goes to Dr. Jerome Blum.
By Kate Kelly
Related Link
* Text of SB 1401 - Dr. Blum's law by State Sen. Joe Simitian
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