June 29, 2017
Kindergartners create quilt of valor for Operation Mend program
By Amy Albin 
On Flag Day, June 14, a group of kindergarten students from the Berkeley Hall School in Los Angeles presented a homemade “quilt of valor” to UCLA Health Operation Mend, a program that provides medical, surgical and psychological services at UCLA for wounded members of the military who have served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist […]
Tags: Berkeley Hall School, nursing, Operation Mend, patriotism, Patti Taylor, quilt of valor, UCLA Operation Mend, veterans, wounded warriors
June 27, 2017
Veterans with PTSD need integration into the family, not isolation
By Amy Albin
When it comes to helping a veteran with PTSD, families too often tend to focus the majority of their physical, emotional and mental resources into taking care of that person, inadvertently creating an imbalance that can both constrain the veteran’s healing and further stress the family. Dr. Jo Sornborger, director of psychologic health for the […]
Tags: Dr. Jo Sornborger, mental health, Operation Mend, psychological injury, PTSD, UCLA Health Operation Mend, veterans, wounded warriors
May 9, 2017
Meet the Bartholettis: Couple brings respite to wounded warriors receiving health care at UCLA
By Amy Albin
When supporting a nonprofit organization, some people write checks and others volunteer their time. And some, like Annie and Vic Bartholetti, open their home — and their hearts. Since 2011, the Los Angeles attorneys have volunteered as a host family, or Buddy Family for wounded military veterans who receive health care through UCLA Health’s Operation […]
Tags: caregivers, Dr. Chris Crisera, Dr. Jo Sornborger, Dr. Kodi Azari, intensive therapy program, Operation Mend, reconstructive surgery, Tiverton House, UCLA Buddy Family Program, UCLA Health volunteers, UCLA Operation, volunteers
November 15, 2016
Coping with the hidden wounds of war
By Amy Albin
With more than 3 in 4 post 9-11 veterans reporting that they suffer from post-traumatic stress, many American military families are coping with this invisible wound of war as their loved ones’ transition back into civilian life. “PTSD and mild traumatic brain injury greatly impact the veteran’s family, friends and community too,” says Dr. Jo […]
Tags: Dr. Jo Sornborger, intensive therapy program, Operation Mend, Post traumatic stress, PTSD, TBI, traumatic brain injury, UCLA Operation Mend, veterans, Warrior Care Network
April 22, 2016
New program helps vets suffering from invisible wounds of war
By Meg Sullivan 
More than 100 well-wishers gathered April 13 at a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for UCLA Operation Mend’s new program that is designed to heal the hidden, yet lingering, wounds of war. “This is a new day, a program we can be proud of,” said retired General Peter W. Chiarelli an executive advisor to the Ronald A. […]
Tags: Amy Albin, integrative medicine, intensive care, media, military, neurology, neurosurgery, Operation Mend, psychiatry, Tiverton House, traumatic brain injury, veterans
June 30, 2015
Operation Eyelid Reconstruction
By uclahealth 
“In 2005, I got hit by an IED. My teammates were ambushed, and I suffered the brunt of the blast. Eighty percent of my body was covered with third-degree burns,” says Israel “DT” Del Toro, an Air Force officer who served in Afghanistan. “A little over eight years ago, I came to [Ronald Reagan UCLA […]
Tags: featured, Operation Mend, patient stories, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
