The National Endowment for the Arts has selected Madigan Army Hospital, located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, to be one of five new Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network sites across the country. This selection means that Madigan will receive NEA funding to support art, music and creative writing therapies used in the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related psychological health issues.

The announcement was made at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed Army Hospital located in Bethesda, Maryland. NEA funds will be used to support and study the effectiveness of various creative therapies in the treatment of TBI and PTSD, among other psychological health problems. The expansion of the program that includes Madigan Army Hospital will be funded by an almost $2 million NEA budget increase approved by Congress.

NEA Chairman, Jane Chu, said, "At the National Endowment for the Arts, we understand the healing power of the arts, and are honored to work with the Department of Defense on this transformative program." She goes on to say, "Patients who participate in creative arts therapy acknowledge improvement in sleep, memory, pain, cognitive function, and their ability to confront emotional challenges. It is a privilege to be part of a program that benefits the brave men and women who so proudly serve our country, as well as the caregivers and families who support them."

Over the next few months, the Washington State Arts Commission will be looking for organizations throughout the region that might be able to participate in this program through the use of various creative therapies.

One of those organizations is the Tacoma Museum of Glass. Their Hot Shop Heroes: Healing With Fire program is one of the first to be included in the local Creative Forces network. The glass art therapy program partners with the Warrior Transition Battalion at JBLM to provide wounded warriors with a chance to move toward healing.  Karen Hanan, executive director of the Washington State Arts Commission said, "It's remarkable ... to see the effect on the veterans and the way they are not only able to create something, but they can create things that allow them to tell their story in a way they haven't been able to do before and to externalize some of the traumas within by expressing them in the glass they make."

The Creative Forces program, which will be administered by the Americans for the Arts organization partnering with the National Initiative for Arts and Health in the Military, will include four more sites besides Madigan Army Hospital: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California, Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and Fort Hood in Texas.

"Placing creative arts therapies at the center of an integrated multidisciplinary team confronting the ‘invisible wounds' brought on by traumatic brain injuries and associated psychological health conditions has actually helped provide visibility to some of these injuries, resulting in improved communication and accelerated healing incorporating the entire treatment team," said U.S. Navy Capt. Walt Greenhalgh, director for the National Intrepid Center of Excellence. "We are delighted to be working with the National Endowment for the Arts to help bring these benefits to bear for more military populations across the nationally expanding Creative Forces network."