On April 25, 2017, NYHealth held a panel discussion to highlight the work of the Patton Veterans Project, one of our 10th Anniversary Emerging Innovator awardees and an organization that we believe is poised to make radical improvements to the state of New York’s health over the next 10 years.

The Patton Veterans Project uses its I WAS THERE filmmaking workshops as an innovative approach to help veterans share their stories, break down the barriers that prevent them from seeking care, and alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The Patton Veterans Project has held more than 40 filmmaking workshops across the country, enabling nearly 1,000 veterans to collaborate on some 400 short films about their experiences.

Topics discussed by the panel included stigma surrounding mental health, deficiencies within the VA’s health care system, military sexual assault, and the health needs of women veterans. The event also featured films made by veterans who participated in the Patton Veterans Project’s I WAS THERE workshops.

Panelists included:

  • Derek Coy (Moderator), Veterans’ Health Officer, NYHealth
  • Benjamin Patton, Founder and Executive Director of the Patton Veterans Project
  • Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D., Director of the Mental Health Patient Care Center at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center
  • Kathleen Romano, Ph.D., a veteran and participant in a recent Patton Veterans Project workshop
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