TriWest's interactive map brings help from home to families coping with deployment

  • Published
  • By TriWest Healthcare Alliance
PHOENIX, Ariz. --  Service members returning from the war in Iraq now have a new resource to help them and their family members deal with the unique set of re-adjustment challenges they face. In a proactive approach to preventing, identifying and treating post deployment issues, TriWest Healthcare Alliance launched an interactive behavioral health resource map on www.triwest.com where visitors simply click on their state and view a list of national and local, civilian and military behavioral health resources. This provides a fast and easy way to get help and information to those who need it no matter what time of day or where they are located. 

"Being a military service or family member can sometimes bring emotional and mental health challenges, requiring support from outside sources," said Blake Chaffee, TriWest's vice president of Integrated Health Care Services. "In response to this need, TriWest launched this interactive map featuring nearly 150 resources. This is especially useful for military health care beneficiaries in rural communities who otherwise would not have immediate access to behavioral health resources." 

To access the interactive map, visit www.triwest.com, click on "Behavioral Health," click on "Access Local and National Resources." When you see the map, click on your state for a list of resources. 

Beneficiaries who need help or know of someone who needs help - from emotional support, to counseling, financial help or other family support - should visit the behavioral health portal which features tools to pinpoint and address common military behavioral health issues, including PTSD, depression, substance abuse and much more. TriWest recently expanded the portal to include a focus on child and adolescent issues, including information on depression, sleep, ADHD and other behavioral health problems a child or teen may experience as a result of a parent's military deployment. 

TriWest also staffs a toll-free crisis hotline at 866-284-3743, offering assistance 24-hours a day. 

As part of their Help from Home program, the Behavioral Health Portal is only one of the ways TriWest is helping service members and their families deal with the pressures of serving our Nation. Help from Home proactively addresses the daunting challenge of helping military service members and their families cope with deployment-related issues. In particular, National Guard and Reserve members and their families often have limited access to behavioral health resources that are otherwise available to their active-duty counterparts. Help from Home integrates several distinct, yet integrated programs designed to educate, assist and expedite support. They include National Guard and Reserve Family Readiness centers; providing education seminars about combat stress identification and treatment; sponsorship of emotionally supportive summer camps for children of deployed Service members; a variety of behavioral health pilot programs and free Getting Home DVDs with post-deployment readjustment advice and information.