As a top-ranked, world-renowned academic medical center and home to the most advanced medical facilities in the United States, UCLA Health offers innovative care and the latest in medical technology. The original focus of Operation Mend was to engage UCLA’s word-class experts in plastic and reconstructive surgery to rebuild the faces of service members who had suffered highly complex facial trauma. The program expanded to provide subspecialty surgical and medical specialty treatment in a variety of clinical areas, as well as comprehensive psychological health care for post-9/11-era service members, veterans, and their families at no cost.
Along with advanced surgical care, Operation Mend is distinguished by its focus on including the warrior’s family in care and providing comprehensive case management, coordination, and social support that helps eliminate barriers to treatment.
In 2015, UCLA Operation Mend joined the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) and three partner medical centers as founding members of WWP's Warrior Care Network. In January 2016, as part of this partnership, UCLA Health and Operation Mend launched an intensive, structured treatment program for service members/veterans who have suffered service-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The six-week program begins with three weeks on the UCLA campus and is designed for patients who require more than regular outpatient care as part of their treatment plan.
Prior to referral into the program, potential participants will spend two-to-five days at UCLA consulting with a multidisciplinary team of TBI and PTSD specialists to ensure the intensive program is the most appropriate treatment option.
Participants in the program will receive the personalized care for which UCLA Operation Mend is known. All care, travel and accommodations are arranged for and provided at no cost to Operation Mend patients and their families. In addition, patients and family members will be picked up at the gate of the airplane upon arrival and transported to and from their hotel and all activities and appointments. Following the onsite three-week program, participants will take part in an additional three weeks of provider-facilitated peer-to-peer support via telehealth to continue refining skills and building community.
Our three-week intensive clinical program onsite is designed to provide support, education, healing and wellness, and includes:
About Warrior Care Network™ (WCN)
Warrior Care Network™ is a groundbreaking collaboration between Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) and its academic medical center partners, Emory Healthcare, Massachusetts General Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, and UCLA Health, to create a nationwide, comprehensive care network that will enhance access and provide clinical and familycentered treatment to warriors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other related conditions. WCN will offer specialized clinical services through either a regionalized Outpatient Program (OP) and/or an innovative Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). Through this cutting-edge initiative, WWP and its partners plan to serve thousands of wounded veterans and family members over the next three years.
