We are pleased to announce the launch of our Patriot Support Program, an expanded program to provide behavioral health services to military members and their families at facilities around the country.

Patriot Support Programs came together as a result of the relationships the company’s facilities have with military installations and hospitals around the country. After seeing the behavioral health needs of military members increase,the Patriot Support Program is committing more resources to military-specific services.

Eight facilities, designated as Patriot Support Centers, initially will participate in the program and continue to work with military installation commanders, tailoring services to that particular installation’s needs. More hospitals may fall under the Patriot Support umbrella as programs and services for military families are needed in their areas.

Patriot Support includes both inpatient and outpatient programs to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance abuse and general anxiety disorders that may be symptomatic of difficult combat situations, separation from families, and the stress of financial, marital or other problems.

Recently, Adm. Mike Mullen , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke about military mental health at the Warrior Resilience Conference in Norfolk, Va. He called for better coordination of services between the military and general public. He urged mental health leaders to show leadership by proposing programs that can be measured for their results.

“Veterans tell us that no one who has been in combat, or who has deployed to a combat zone, or who has been in the family of a deployed service member is unchanged by that experience,” he continued. “We are honored to be a resource to the military, and our goal is to be an efficient, effective supplement to the military’s own excellent resources when it is appropriate for us to do so.”

New statistics show that U.S. Army suicides will hit a new high this year. The Patriot Support Program is already working to support several military installation commanders to provide suicide prevention training to unit commanders, non-commissioned officers and line troops. The staff and clinical personnel also are providing support to military chaplains, family services organizations and military treatment facilities.

“The strain of the battlefield has worn greatly on the bodies, minds and spirits of service men and women,” said Richard Clark , CEO of Poplar Springs Hospital, a Patriot Support Center. “Our program offers a discreet place for diagnosis and treatment of behavioral health issues. Proper treatment can help heal the invisible wounds of war, and we are proud to be a part of the recovery process.”

The initial Patriot Support Centers are:

Charles H. Dukes , M.D., a psychiatrist and military consultant at Cedar Springs Hospital, is a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve who has been deployed to Iraq. Patriot Support Centers, he said, “seek to partner with the military to provide quality mental health care to service members. For these Americans who have answered the call to duty, we proudly answer the call to care.”

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6105898〈=en