Senator Boxer: Improving Rehabilitative Care for Service Members   

Wednesday, September 1, 2010  

Dear Friend:

Service members can now get state-of-the-art rehabilitative care in San Diego County thanks to the new facility at the San Diego Naval Medical Center and a civilian rehabilitation center in Encinitas.

It goes without saying that we are asking a tremendous amount from our service members and their families.  Though we can never adequately repay them for their sacrifice, we can work to make their lives easier, including ensuring that they continue to have the opportunity to recover from injuries close to home and close to their families.

I am proud to have championed the establishment of the Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care (C5) Center and to have fought for the funding needed to locate it in San Diego.  I felt it was critical to have a place for combat-wounded service members from the West Coast to receive treatment and recover from their injuries close to their loved ones. 

I recently visited the San Diego Naval Medical Center to take a follow-up tour of the C5 Center.  One young Marine who was undergoing a difficult rehabilitation process told me how important it was to have a facility on the West Coast able to provide care for severe injuries incurred in service to our nation.  Previously, many military families from California had to uproot and move to the East Coast to be with their loved one during an often lengthy recovery process.

The C5 is providing comprehensive care – for the physical injuries our service members have sustained, and for rehabilitation and transition back to military service or civilian life.

I also toured the Scripps Rehabilitation Center in Encinitas, which has contracted with the military to provide rehabilitation from mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and stroke.  Since 2006, the Rehabilitation Center has worked with the Marine Corps to treat returning combat-injured Marines, many injured by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).   The Center has treated more than 100 military personnel in its Day Treatment Program, more than three-quarters of whom have returned to their units.  

Together, these two outstanding medical facilities are providing comprehensive care for service members with a range of injuries.  You can count on me to keep working to support facilities such as the C5 and the Scripps brain injury center, which provide such important services for our service members.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer