Partnerships target health care, jobs for veterans and former NFL players

Access to quality health care, social support, housing and professional resources often determines how well military veterans and NFL players transition to normal life after their service and retirement. career.

Tulane University Brain Health Center and Merge veterans and players (MVP) have partnered to create a New Orleans MVP Chapter to provide support through networking, access to health care, educational opportunities, housing resources and jobs and community events.

“This is a perfect partnership and a natural continuation of the comprehensive, multidisciplinary care we have always provided to former athletes and military veterans,” said Dr. Greg Stewart, TUCBH Medical Director and Professor W. Kennon McWilliams. of sports medicine in orthopaedics. “We hope this chapter will bring people together to share their experiences.”

Stewart specializes in disability prevention, rehabilitation medicine and sports medicine and is director of the sports concussion management program. He is Tulane’s team physician and has served as a team physician for professional, college, and high school programs for 35 years. It treats nearly 200 military veterans and 650 former NFL players each year, in conjunction with the league owners’ NFLPA program, The Trust and the NFL Player Care Foundation.

TUCBH treats mild to moderate traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, physical and psychological health issues. An MRI may be administered and common problems treated may include memory problems, dementia, CTE problems and early Alzheimer’s disease. Typically, TUCBH patients are assessed and assessed by a team of doctors, nurses, case managers, social workers, and therapists, followed by an individualized treatment plan.

“Many of them haven’t seen a doctor since leaving their careers or on leave. Health literacy is low because most of the time health care comes to mind,” said Stewart: “Our primary role is to provide access to quality health care before we can help them with the resources needed to transition into society.”

MVP, which serves more than 2,000 veterans and 1,000 former professional athletes, has chapters in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas and Phoenix. The New Orleans chapter hopes to launch in 2023 after securing necessary funding, raising awareness, and finding a chapter location. Companies interested in sponsoring the chapter can contact TUCBH Director of External Relations Bonnie McCollough at [email protected].

A fundraiser for the film screening was held on October 26 at the Prytania Theatre, “MVP: the real battle begins when the uniform comes offdirected by former Seahawk co-founder, Green Beret and MVP, Nate Boyer. “Working with such a reputable university as Tulane University is a great opportunity,” Boyer said. “Most of our other chapters are sponsored by individual or corporate donors, which is great, but it’s a unique situation. An opportunity to have a presence in a place like New Orleans, a great sports city with a large number of veterans, it makes so much sense to have a chapter there.

The partnership between MVP and TUCBH grew out of a friendship between Eric Beverly, Chief Operating Officer of TUCBH, and Boyer while both were at the University of Texas. Beverly, a former NFL player, was assistant athletic director for student services, and Boyer was a long snapper for the Longhorns. The two reconnected earlier this year leading to the collaboration.

“When MVP started in 2015, I paid close attention because I had former teammates involved, and because of the nature of Tulane’s clinical programs, this partnership made sense,” Beverly said. “I’ve seen the success we’ve had in mitigating traumatic experiences, providing preventative treatment, and helping individuals move forward with needed resources. Now, with MVP, it’s a tremendous opportunity to engage veterinarians and football players with each other, connecting them to businesses and community organizations and building important partnerships.

According to a LinkedIn Poll, there are more than 11,000 former athletes on the networking site. The top occupations among former NFL players are small business owners/entrepreneurs, followed by sales, fitness, financial services, athletics front office and broadcasting.

“I equate life after sports transition to the Mike Tyson quote – ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth’ – it takes careful thought, time and the right support mechanisms to understand how your attributes translate to business success,” Beverly said. “While you are in this transition, the physical issues you have experienced can turn into mental and emotional well-being challenges. This is what makes what we do at Tulane so critical in terms of support.

NextOp, Ochsner will hire 300 veterans in 3 years

One of the professional resources that TUCBH often refers patients to and networks with is NextOp, a non-profit organization that recruits, develops, and places high-performing intermediate (E-3 through E-7) and post-9/11 veterans in jobs. Since 2018, when NextOp launched in Louisiana, the organization has placed 660 veterans in jobs. Since 2015, the national organization has placed more than 3,000 veterans in jobs, with an average starting salary of $57,000.

This month, NextOp and Health Ochsner received the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) to help military veterinarians in the Mississippi Delta find healthcare jobs.

NextOp and Ochsner will recruit, hire and train a hybrid military and veteran recruiter to connect veterinarians to jobs at Ochsner and develop pipelines for transitioning military healthcare professionals and underemployed veterans. The goal is to hire 300 veterans in three years at Ochsner.

“NextOp is thrilled to partner with respected Ochsner healthcare providers on this innovative program,” said Shelby Mounts, Executive Director of NextOp. “The goal is to remove barriers for qualified military veterans so they can effectively enter the job market, utilize their superb training, and fill healthcare talent gaps in Louisiana and across the country. Mississippi delta. Going forward, we expect this effort to result in scalable best practices targeted to our nation’s significant demands for healthcare talent.