Sept. 21, 2018
U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy announced today that the University of Central Florida’s RESTORES Clinic will receive $1 million from the U.S. Army to develop its own virtual reality software to treat active-duty servicemembers and military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The RESTORES Clinic uses virtual reality to simulate a patient’s traumatic experience and to help reduce the anxiety the patient associates with that experience, a technique known as exposure therapy. The Clinic will use this $1 million in funding—along with an additional $2 million in funding the Clinic is expected to receive over the next two years—to develop its own enhanced virtual reality software that will further improve quality of care. The Clinic currently utilizes software developed by a third party.
“As a nation, we have a moral obligation to assist the brave men and women who are wounded—either physically or emotionally—as a result of their service to our country,” said Murphy. “I am so proud to announce that the U.S. military continues to invest significantly in the RESTORES Clinic, which will enable the Clinic to provide the highest level of care to our servicemembers, veterans, and first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“This funding will allow us to enhance and expand our efforts to provide servicemembers, veterans and first responders with the very best treatment, backed by the very best scientific research,” said Dr. Deborah Beidel, the Director of the RESTORES Clinic. “When completed, we believe that this cutting-edge software will optimize treatment for individuals who currently suffer from the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.”
After this funding got tied up in the federal bureaucracy, Murphy worked with the Department of Defense and with her colleagues in Congress to ensure the RESTORES Clinic ultimately received the funding.
This is the second major federal grant made to the RESTORES Clinic this year. In May, Murphy announced the Clinic would receive $10 million from the Department of Defense’s Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program to implement a condensed, three-week version of the Clinic’s exposure therapy program to treat 300 active-duty personnel at various sites across the country.
Murphy has made efforts to assist military veterans one of her top priorities in Congress. Last week, Congress passed Murphy’s measure to increase funding for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Wounded Warrior Program, which provides two-year paid fellowships for disabled veterans to work in congressional offices. Murphy also authored the Battle for Servicemembers Act, the core of which Congress recently enacted into law. This legislation reforms the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program and will better prepare the nearly 250,000 servicemembers who leave the military each year to attend college, learn a trade, or start a small business.
All official press releases from Former Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL)
