The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has announced a $12.5 million gift from the Gary Sinise Foundation Avalon Network to expand access to treatment for traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) for military veterans in the region.

The investment will enable the Matthew Gfeller Center, which is focused on sports-related TBI research, to launch the Transforming Health and Resilience in Veterans (THRIVE) Program, a community-based clinical outreach effort dedicated to treating TBIs or post-traumatic stress (PTS) and related health conditions and promoting overall wellness for veterans. The program will evaluate, diagnose, and treat physical, cognitive, and other health conditions in a monthlong care program for about a hundred and forty veterans a year over the next ten years — regardless of discharge status, insurance coverage, or ability to pay. When fully operational following a six-month pilot phase, THRIVE also will provide a referral network and post-program follow-ups for as many as four hundred veterans and their family members.

Launched in February with commitments totaling $40 million from the Arthur M. Blank and Marcus foundations, the Avalon Network is an integrative treatment and training network focused on providing care for veterans and first responders impacted by PTS, TBI, and substance abuse, with plans to establish twenty treatment sites across the United States.

"There are many overlapping symptoms between traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress that make diagnosis and treatment incredibly difficult. All too often, veterans receive inadequate or incomplete care that does not address the true cause of their pain," said James Kelly, executive director of the Marcus Institute for Brain Health and a member of the Avalon Network. "We are thrilled to partner with UNC's Matthew Gfeller Center to help heal the invisible wounds afflicting our veterans."

(Photo credit: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)