News Archives 2018
2018
UCLA Operation Mend Participates in 2018 Veteran’s Day Parade
(Various news outlets, November 2018)
- Willie Geist of reported on Operation Mend and a visit made by Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United of Nations, with patients at a dinner following the Veterans Day parade.
- Yolanda Poullard, a U.S. Army Major (retired) of Louisiana, developed PTSD after returning from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her story was featured by local TV stations, including KATC, , and KLSA.
- John Kob, a U.S. Marine Sergeant Major (retired) of Tennessee, was treated for PTSD through Operation Mend's intensive treatment program. His story was featured by local TV stations and WCYB and his local paper .
- Tad Steckler, a U.S. Army Master Sergeant (retired) of Nebraska, sustained numerous physical injuries and traumatic brain injury from parachute jumps and explosions. His story was covered by his local FOX station .
- George Cloy, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (retired) of Washington, suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in Iraq. His story was covered by local TV stations , KOMO and KATU and by his local paper .
- David Yoho, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (retired) of Georgia, suffered numerous physical injuries and traumatic brain injuries. His story was reported by his local paper, .
- Darius Johnson, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (retired) of South Carolina, was wounded when an improvised explosive device exploded. His story was featured by his local NBC station .
Vietnam Veteran Ric Ryan raises more than $125,000 for UCLA Operation Mend
(UCLA Health social media, Nov 7, 2018)
Ric Ryan, a Vietnam veteran who lives in California, has raised more than $125,000 for Operation Mend over the last decade. UCLA Health created a video about his work, which received 31,000 views . His story was reported by local publication The Pine Tree.
Operation Mend joins forces with the Movember Foundation to fundraise for veteran mental health services
(UCLA Health News, Nov 2, 2018)
Brian Schiefer, a U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant (retired) of Florida, was paralyzed from the waist down in a military training accident. He served as Team Captain for a joint campaign between Operation Mend and Movember, as mentioned in a .
$20.1 million grant expands UCLA Operation Mend’s mental health program
(UCLA Health News, Oct 23, 2018)
UCLA Health Operation Mend has received a five-year, $20.1 million grant from Wounded Warrior Project to expand its intensive treatment program that serves veterans with post-traumatic stress and mild traumatic brain injuries and their caregivers. The contribution is the largest ever to Operation Mend and is part of a larger $160 million investment that Wounded Warrior Project is making to increase its support of the Warrior Care Network, which includes UCLA, Emory Healthcare, Massachusetts General Hospital and Rush University Medical Center.
Vietnam veteran marks 10 years of walks to raise money for UCLA’s Operation Mend
(UCLA Health News, Oct 2, 2018)
Ric Ryan, 72, fought for his country in Vietnam, has had both knees and one hip replaced and, in August, was struck by a car at a crosswalk. The car accident took him out of action for several weeks, but soon he was back trekking along the streets near his hometown of Murphys, California to raise money for a UCLA program that helps wounded veterans of post 9-11 conflicts, most of whom weren’t even born when Ryan was a Marine fighting in the jungles of Vietnam.
Walking Man of Murphy’s Celebrates 10 years of showing veteran support (Calaveras Enterprise, Sept 14, 2018)
What began as an effort to start a healthier lifestyle for Vietnam veteran Ric Ryan, has turned into a decadelong passion to raise funds for injured veterans. “I like to walk,” Ryan said. “I’ve been walking since I was 12.” Yet, 10 years ago, walking changed for Ryan. “I saw something on the TV about Operation Mend, so I thought I might try to help (veterans) by counting waves from folks as I was walking.” For each wave he would take 25 cents out of his own pocket to put it in a fund he had set aside for Operation Mend.
Kindergarten class supports wounded veterans with homemade ‘quilt of valor’ (UCLA Health Connect, May 29, 2018)
A kindergarten class from the Berkeley Hall School in Los Angeles presented a homemade "quilt of valor" to UCLA Health Operation Mend, a program that provides health services for wounded post 9/11 service members. Quilts of valor are given to injured military service members to provide warmth and comfort.
PC Magazine highlights UCLA Operation Mend (PC Magazine, March 19, 2018)
During the height of the Iraq War in 2005, Sergeant Karolyn Smith, a machine gunner for the 127th Military Police, was on patrol one night in a Humvee military truck when her vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. "I knew that I was on fire, and badly injured," Sgt. Smith told PCMag, "But luckily adrenaline kicked in, masking the severe shock and reality of what just happened to my life, my body and my career in the Armed Forces." Several years later, after multiple spine surgeries, she was treating her chronic pain with a high level dosage of painkillers and desperately seeking a solution (or an end to it all).
The Warrior Care Network seeks early intervention when battling long-term illness in veterans (American Heart Association News, March 19, 2018)
A higher severity of an injury during war – and of a post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis later – could more than double the risk for high blood pressure, according to a new study of service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.