About
Imagine N.O.W., a Nevada nonprofit, was established to fill what we believe to be an urgent need to provide an effective and safe treatment to more than 700,000 Veterans returning from combat zones suffering from debilitating traumatic brain injury. This so-called invisible injury is characterized by persistent headache, dizziness, sleeplessness, loss of short-term memory, loss of executive function and bouts of anger and rage – all of which make it difficult to function normally, adapt socially or hold a job. Those servicemen and women suffering from traumatic brain injury are mustered out of the service immediately upon manifesting symptoms, notably loss of short-term memory, and left to fend for themselves in their return to civilian life.
Veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury find it’s difficult if not impossible to get or hold a job in the civilian world. Many remain jobless, some can be so difficult to live with that they lose the support of their spouses and families; some become homeless; others, depressed by an inability to cope and by VA-prescribed drugs, tragically commit suicide. Veteran suicide is so prevalent as to be epidemic, the Veterans Administration estimating in 2016 that Veterans commit suicide at a rate of 20 a day, a number many believe to be understated.
The VA is treating traumatic brain injury with drugs ineffective in healing brain damage and which can cause harmful interactions. And even though hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been shown effective for both post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, it has not been cleared by the FDA for either condition so the VA won’t use it and insurance carriers won’t pay it. The irony is the ineffective drugs the VA prescribes are off-label but it refuses to prescribe hyperbaric oxygen therapy, also off-label, but known to be effective. The net is that Veterans suffering from these seriously debilitating injuries can only receive the only treatment that works – hyperbaric oxygen therapy – through donation-based hyperbaric clinics of which there are way too few to treat the 700,000 or more Veterans who need it.
When we became aware of this situation – the high Veteran suicide rate and the hundreds of thousands of Veterans suffering from debilitating brain injury, the compelling research demonstrating the safety and efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for these conditions, the refusal of the VA to deploy this only known effective treatment - we realized we had to do something. The net of that was to form Imagine N.O.W. (Imagine Nurturing Our Warriors, Ltd), a Nevada nonprofit, to establish Veteran Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Centers with the first Center in Las Vegas.
The VA is treating traumatic brain injury with drugs ineffective in healing brain damage and which can cause harmful interactions. And even though hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been shown effective for both post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, it has not been cleared by the FDA for either condition so the VA won’t use it and insurance carriers won’t pay it. The irony is the ineffective drugs the VA prescribes are off-label but it refuses to prescribe hyperbaric oxygen therapy, also off-label, but known to be effective. The net is that Veterans suffering from these seriously debilitating injuries can only receive the only treatment that works – hyperbaric oxygen therapy – through donation-based hyperbaric clinics of which there are way too few to treat the 700,000 or more Veterans who need it.
When we became aware of this situation – the high Veteran suicide rate and the hundreds of thousands of Veterans suffering from debilitating brain injury, the compelling research demonstrating the safety and efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for these conditions, the refusal of the VA to deploy this only known effective treatment - we realized we had to do something. The net of that was to form Imagine N.O.W. (Imagine Nurturing Our Warriors, Ltd), a Nevada nonprofit, to establish Veteran Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Centers with the first Center in Las Vegas.
JANET FRANCO, CO-FOUNDER
Janet Franco, humanitarian and 25-year radio personality, is a proud supporter of Veterans. Her company, Pay It Forward Network International (PIFN), markets unique health care and nutritional products to an international audience. Through PIFN and her weekly radio program “Soulful Rosie and Friends” Janet highlights Veteran issues and supports Veterans by donating up to half its profits to Imagine N.O.W. and other similar Veteran-focused nonprofits. Janet met Marty Hoffman, former Secretary of the Army and avid advocate for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Veterans, who launched her on a quest to establish hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinics for Veterans. In 2015, she met and teamed with USAF Veteran Barry Meuse to do just that. Since then, Janet has been a dynamic leader of and prime mover of Imagine N.O.W. and the vision to establish a Las Vegas-based Veteran Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Center. Listen to Janet as Soulful Rosie each Friday at 3:30 to 5:00 pm on KKVV Christian Radio, 1060 am and 101.5 FM, Las Vegas for an inspiring message.
BARRY MEUSE
Barry M. Meuse is a former Air Force combat fighter pilot, defense strategist and entrepreneur with over forty years’ experience in both the private and public sectors. He is active in veteran issues and a strong supporter of efforts to bring hyperbaric oxygen therapy to combat Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Through an exposure to the science and practice of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and his connection to Veteran issues, he developed a commitment to develop a series of nonprofit hyperbaric oxygen clinics for Veterans much aligned with that of Janet Franco. Together, they realized Las Vegas, due to high Veteran population, Veteran-friendly culture, geo-centric location, ease of air access and reasonable cost of living was the logical place to establish the first such Center. To that end, they formed Imagine N.O.W. (Imagine Nurturing Our Warriors) in 2016 and worked to build the team to bring the Center to reality.
