Governor Mark Gordon Signs 20 Bills on Tuesday February 9

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon signed 20 bills into law on Tuesday, February 9 and has now acted on all legislation passed by the Wyoming Legislature during the eight-day virtual session.

One those bills signed was HJ0001, a bill aimed at increasing treatment options for veterans with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The bill notes grim statistics like “national veteran suicide crisis data indicates that as many as 22 veteran die by suicide every day” and the link between that and TBIs.

“Traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder can be causes of suicide and that data collected from 2000-2009 indicates that between active guard and reserve service members across all branches there are 413,858 individuals with TBIs of varying degrees.”

The bill also notes that “the number of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder varies by service era but ranges between 11% and 30%.”

The purpose of HJ0001 is to expand the options of treatment beyond medication and counseling to include “vocational counseling and other rehabilitation therapies… like physical therapy, occupational therapy, cognitive therapy, speech therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.”

The research on hyberbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for TBI patients began in the 1960s and showed its promise in the neuroprotective results seen in rats in a study published in 1966. More modern studies have shown benefits in the immediate and long term. A 2016 paper published by the NIH indicates that HBOT can increase tissue oxygenation, suppress inflammation and promotes neurogenesis and angiogenesis.

A full list of the bills signed into law on February 9^th can be seen below and independently reviewed here.