FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The East Orange campus of the Department of Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System (VANJHCS) has established the Center for the Study of War-Related Illnesses (CSWRI). This site was selected for federal funding after a competitive, scientific peer-review process. Only two Centers in the country were funded. The aim of the Centers is to address health concerns of veterans related to service in conflicts and to improve the care of active duty and veteran patients with war-related illnesses. 

Shortly after the Gulf War, some service members began presenting for care with a wide range of symptoms they believed related to the conflict. In many cases, the military medical community found itself ill-prepared to deal with these health issues, particularly in cases where the presenting symptoms did not fit with a known disease. The lack of detailed information on Gulf War related exposures and effective risk communication techniques left many providers and patients frustrated.

The East Orange CSWRI is developing appropriate strategies to minimize illness and injury that can be implemented before, during, and after future conflicts and peacekeeping missions. It will focus on medical care, research, risk communication, and education for military personnel. Risk communication is considered essential for communicating deployment health risks to veterans and their families while the educational component will train VA’s health care providers to deliver high quality care to veterans. 

The East Orange Center is located at 385 Tremont Avenue in East Orange, New Jersey. The Center has an academic affiliation with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Additionally, they collaborate with the Department of Defense, including its Deployment Health Clinical Center, to ensure lessons are applied to the active-duty military as well as to veterans. The Center will also serve to replace the Gulf War Referral Centers across the nation.

The East Orange Center is actively searching for veterans with symptoms of no known medical cause, such as fatigue, pain, thinking problems, and/or unrefreshing sleep that occurred at or after their military service. Veterans with undiagnosed medical symptoms can, with their primary care provider, request an evaluation from the Center. Once a referral from the local VA hospital is made, assessment by the team of specialists at the East Orange CSWRI can begin.

For further information about this program, call toll free 1-800-248-8005.