Tucson doc meets with homeless veterans

Published: Mar. 25, 2016 at 1:23 PM MST|Updated: Mar. 25, 2016 at 7:06 PM MST
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - With Veterans on Patrol "watching their six," homeless vets in Tucson considered a new option to treat their physical and mental health problems.

Dr. Carol Henricks, with Northstar HBOT, provides treatment to veterans through her hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

She began treatment with SSgt. Christopher Liby nearly a year ago and now that he's cut down his use of prescription pills, Henricks is hoping she can help others do the same.

She met with nearly a dozen homeless vets near Santa Rita Park in Tucson on Friday, March 25.

She said she's provided food and other donations to Camp Bravo, just north of the park, but Friday was the first time she showed up as a practicing doctor. The introductions made were more about building relationships, but Henricks said some time in the HBOT chamber could help veterans who are struggling with drugs or alcohol, along with their mental health issues.

"They can take their life back and start to be productive and in society again," she said. "When their thinking clears up, they believe they can master their life again."

Clint Chamberlin, an Army Ranger from Montana, joined Henricks at the camp on Friday. He served food and water to the homeless but also served as a testimonial to the effects of HBOT.

In a rut for approximately 10 years, Chamberlin admits to planning out his own death. Friends intervened and moved him to Arizona, where he eventually met with Henricks and gave her HBOT chamber a chance.

More than 50 treatments into the program, Chamberlin said the therapy has saved his life.

"I got my life back, and I'm not faking it," he said.

Counseling was a waste, according to Chamberlin, and prescription pills only made him feel worse. The Army Ranger said he can't wait to return home to show his family that he's the same positive, motivated person they knew before he left for his deployment.

"I just regained my old enthusiasm back," he said. "It's awesome. And it's saddening at the same time because I'm seeing a lot of people, especially today, suffering still."

Chamberlin said he's driven now to help others regain control of their lives.

Henricks is hoping to do that as well with her HBOT program, but she currently relies on sponsors to pay for the treatment of veterans who are referred to her practice. Her goal is to open the first Patriot Clinic in Arizona, where the state would cover the cost of HBOT for veterans.

She said Israel has provided the service to its military for years, and China accepted hyperbaric oxygen therapy decades ago as a reasonable form of treatment.

Copyright 2016 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved.