MISSION: Coastal Authority Care Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes, specifically to provide grants to veterans with service-connected injuries, especially the “invisible wounds” of mild traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress and chronic pain. Our Emerging Therapy Grant program will help pay for cutting-edge medical therapies, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy and neurofeedback, that is not covered by insurance, which provides symptom relief and helps restore quality of life. Our ultimate goal is to help prevent suicide.
Studies show suicidal ideation reduces significantly with HBOT. Not one veteran at the local facility we use, Tier 1 Therapy Center in Norfolk, VA, who has completed hyperbaric oxygen therapy has committed suicide.
Additionally, we may also provide grants to veterans, their spouse or other accompanying family member to help pay for travel and lodging expenses associated with therapy.
Typical protocol for a veteran with TBI is 40 dives at a cost of approximately $6000 - $8000. Protocol for neurofeedback is typically 30 sessions at a cost of $5000 - $7000.
NEED FOR THERAPIES THAT PREVENT SUICIDE IN INJURED VETERANS:
Post traumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury (also called concussion) are two of the most prevalent injuries suffered by members of the U.S. Armed Forces. The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center reported total cases of mTBI between 2000 and Q2 2023 to be 479,953. Initially, there may be no observable head injury, even on imaging tests and some of the symptoms may be similar to other problems that stem from combat trauma (source: https://www.research.va.gov/topics/tbi.cfm). This leads to many veterans not being diagnosed for months or perhaps even years after they separate from service.
mTBI is caused by a jarring of the head possibly from a fall, explosion, repeated gunfire exposure or a blow to the head. The jarring causes damage to brain tissue, blood vessels and cells that link areas of the brain and the brain to the body. Common symptoms include but are not limited to confusion, vertigo, sleep disturbance, memory loss, headaches, blurred vision, tinnitus, mood swings, anger outbursts, depression and anxiety. These symptoms are insidious and worsen over time if left untreated, often leading to breakdown in relationships, divorce, separation, loneliness, job loss, early-onset dementia and suicide. Many veterans will not receive early diagnosis or will not seek treatment and in individuals with chronic, persistent symptoms of TBI, traditional medical interventions may be less than successful.
A complicating risk factor for mTBI is a person's lifetime accumulation of TBI events. Receiving multiple concussions has been associated with greater risk of developing a neurodegenerative diseases, early-onset dementia and an increased risk of suicide compared to someone who has had one or no TBIs. Scientists have found an association between CTE and repetitive mTBI in professional athletes and combat veterans after autopsy. There is some evidence from epidemiological studies that shows a link between multiple mTBIs and progressive neurodegenerative conditions, like Parkinson's disease, as well as increased association between the two with increasing severity of TBI. (source: https://www.research.va.gov/topics/tbi.cfm)
In August 2012, President Obama signed an executive order to improve access to mental health services for veterans, service members and military families. It directed the DOD and HHS to conduct a comprehensive mental health study with an emphasis on PTS, mTBI and related injuries to develop better prevention, diagnosis and treatment options. This research is ongoing and the issue is that insurance does not yet cover therapies such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, neurofeedback and near infrared light therapy, which are considered “experimental” providing healing of injured tissue, clinical symptom improvement and improved quality of life now. Veterans are seeking out these therapies to either augment their traditional medical treatment or when they find no symptom improvement from traditional treatments. Our ultimate goal is to heal the injured tissue, reduce symptoms, improve quality of life and therefore prevent suicide.
GEOGRAPHICAL AREA & STATEMENT OF NEED:
We are located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, part of what is known as Hampton Roads which is home to one of the world’s largest military populations. There are 15 military installations including Naval Station Norfolk, the largest Navy base in the world, and east coast-based SEAL Teams. There are approximately 83,000 active duty military members and 230,000 veterans living in the Hampton Roads area so given the fact that TBI and PTSD are the number one injuries of US service members and many do not show progressive, worsening symptoms until sometimes months or years after the original injury, the need is very great here for these therapies. Many veterans with TBI/PTSD are able to "keep going" and do their jobs and tend to their daily lives as best they can while on active duty with no time for doing any kind of treatment or therapy. For many veterans, only after they retire is when they have time to do these therapies and are often being encouraged by family to finally "do something."
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is breathing 100% medical grade oxygen in FDA approved chambers at a prescribed pressure, typically 1.5 - 2.0 ATA. HBOT induces the body's own natural healing system by reducing inflammation, inducing neurogenesis and angiogenesis. By going under pressure, it forces oxygen into every single cell in the body carried by the blood plasma which is able to reach hypoxic tissue to reoxygenate it and help those injured cells start firing the right signals again, enabling the neurogenesis and angiogenesis processes to begin. You can see on before and after SPECT scans where there was no blood flow and the return of blood flow due to angiogenesis after 40 sessions. This is saving lives and families.
PROGRAM INCEPTION: April 2019
