Active Duty Soldiers Get Mental Help from Private Sector

A private psychiatric hospital near Fort Campbell says 40 percent of its patients are active duty soldiers.

Cumberland Hall, a private hospital run by Franklin-based Psychiatric Solutions, has partnered with Fort Campbell for years, but with so many troops returning from the battlefield this year the demand for help increased.

Greg LaFrancois is the Chief Financial Officer of Cumberland Hall, and he knows the special needs of soldiers. An army veteran for 20 years, he retired from Fort Campbell as the post’s hospital administrator just two years ago. LaFrancois says the army is now more willing to invest in restoring soldiers instead of discharging them as “damaged goods.”

“The goal is to develop a resiliency in these soldiers so they can go back to full duty and actually become a resource within the military because they have walked that difficult path and they have all the benefits of understanding the issues and understanding the cure.”

Cumberland Hall is one of eight Psychiatric Solutions hospitals across the country that cater to the military.