In the fall of 2009, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox charitable foundation partnered to launch the Home Base Program, which provides clinical care for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and families experiencing posttraumatic stress, deployment stress, and traumatic brain injury. Home Base also provides clinical education and is engaged in research to improve treatment for these “invisible wounds of war” which affect one-in-three returning veterans.
The Downeaster Home Base discount enables the Wounded Heroes Program of Maine to pay for one veteran and one companion to travel between any two Downeaster stations for $10 one-way or $20 round-trip per person Monday through Friday. Reservations must be made three days in advance of travel.
According to Pam Payeur, executive director of the Wounded Heroes Program of Maine, “We are proud to partner with the Home Base Program at Mass General Hospital and the Amtrak Downeaster to provide our wounded Maine veterans with the best care available for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Taking the financial burden off our service members for traveling to Home Base makes it that much easier to plug them into quality care for brain injuries as well as psychological injures. Collaborating with the Home Base team allows us to bring our wounded consistent, comprehensive care. This makes it possible to help them get their lives on track and reduce the impact of these types of injuries. Thanks to Home Base and the Amtrak Downeaster for making this important partnership possible.”
“We are deeply grateful to NNEPRA and the residents of Maine for making such a generous commitment to help eliminate this transportation barrier and enable Maine veterans and families to recover from the invisible wounds of war,” said Brig. Gen. (Retired) Jack Hammond, executive director of Home Base.
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