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Lawmakers Hear Veterans’ Testimony Urging Congress and VA to Expand Access to Stellate Ganglion Block for PTSD
Summary
At a joint House hearing on HR 157, veterans, clinicians and a veterans’ nonprofit urged Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand access to stellate ganglion block (SGB) therapy for PTSD, citing clinical studies, personal recoveries and limited VA availability.
A joint public hearing of the House Intergovernmental Affairs and Operations Committee and the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee reviewed HR 157 and testimony urging federal action to increase access to stellate ganglion block, or SGB, therapy for veterans with post‑traumatic stress disorder.
Representative Zach Zimmerman, sponsor of HR 157, opened the hearing by saying the measure would help ensure veterans have access to "every resource available" as they transition to civilian life. Witnesses included Dr. Sean Mulvaney, founder of the SGB Treatment Center and a retired Navy SEAL; Robin Cody, an Army and Air Force veteran and sexual‑assault nurse examiner; Lieutenant Colonel J Ostrich, director of Berks County Veterans Affairs; Will Tobin, deputy director of Berks County Veterans Affairs; and Christine Walsh, founder of the nonprofit For the Love of a Veteran.
Dr. Mulvaney described the SGB procedure as an…
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