Grant helps Scott & White
serve mental health needs
of military families
Help From
the Home Front
Colonel Mark Kehrer recently left Fort Hood for a fourth deployment in Iraq, just
six months after returning from his previous 15-month deployment. His wife, Tracy
Kehrer, of Killeen, remains behind with two daughters and a son at home, and another
son in the Army. “My husband is doing important, wonderful things in Iraq,” Ms.
Kehrer says. “But there is absolutely no way we as a family could handle another
deployment without the support and healing process from Operation Home Front.”
O
peration Home Front is managed
by Scott & White and funded by
a two-year, $750,000 grant from
the Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan
Deployment (TRIAD) Fund of the Dallas
Foundation. The program helps to address
the mental health needs of military
personnel who have served or are serving in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families.
Scott & White already provides primary
care to the military population in the
Killeen area. So it was an ideal choice for
the program.
In fact, the United States Army
initially approached Scott & White about
seeking the grant, says Matthew G.
Wright, CFRE, director of foundation and
corporate relations, Scott & White
Healthcare. “We are the only healthcare
system providing such services through
TRIAD. In addition to our existing
relationship with members of the military
and their families in and around Fort
Hood, we are in a unique position as a
medical training center, research center
and clinical provider to provide these
important services to military families,”
Mr. Wright says.
In awarding the grant, the foundation
also recognized Scott & White’s
commitment to serving the area’s
healthcare and mental health needs, says
Kathryn J. Kotrla, MD, chair, Department
of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science,
Scott & White Healthcare; and associate
dean, Texas A&M Health Science Center
College of Medicine, Round Rock
Campus. She was the liaison between the
United States Department of Veterans
Affairs and the State of Texas for Mental
Health, Substance Abuse and Aging
planning when the grant was awarded.
“They knew we would be here for soldiers,
veterans, and their families now and in the
future. We are focused on the community
and the whole person, integrating physical
and mental healthcare.”
A Good Fit for the Program
Lt. Gen. Donald Jones, U.S. Army Retired,
who was instrumental in launching the
program, says that providing mental health
services that are separate from the military
was an important facet of Scott & White’s
program. “The idea that soldiers and their
families don’t need help is no longer
widespread, but military personnel still
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