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Partnering for Recovery: Aviv Clinics and Koterra Partner to Offer PTSD and TBI Treatment for Veterans

by Aviv Clinics

July 1, 2025

The Invisible Wounds of Military Service

Tens of thousands of U.S. Veterans live with the invisible wounds of service: chronic pain, emotional distress, cognitive decline, and difficulty functioning in daily life. These symptoms are often the chronic effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussions, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While TBI and PTSD may be invisible injuries, they can have a very real impact on quality of life.

Despite growing awareness, treatment options for these conditions are limited, and access to effective treatments remains underfunded by federal programs. But that’s beginning to change.

Expanding Access to Veteran Medical Treatment Through Collaboration

On July 1, 2025 at our clinic in central Florida, Aviv Clinics announced our new partnership with Koterra, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Veterans access the care they need to recover. Together, we are working to make advanced, evidence-based treatment available to Veterans suffering from PTSD, TBI, and other invisible injuries.

Under this new alliance, Aviv Clinics serves as a Veteran Care Collaborator, providing individualized care for Koterra-sponsored Veterans. Koterra, in turn, raises the funds needed to make treatment possible and collects outcome data to ultimately drive long-term change in Veteran healthcare advocacy.

“As scientific research continues to advance, so too has Koterra’s mission to help Veterans suffering from TBI and related invisible wounds including suicidal ideation, post-traumatic stress, and moral injury,” said Patti Brady, Koterra’s founder and CEO. “Our partnership with Aviv Clinics is uniquely promising. This world-class facility offers comprehensive pre- and post-treatment assessments that position Koterra to achieve its ultimate goal: making this treatment widely accessible through VA and insurance coverage.”

Since Koterra’s founding, the nonprofit has helped fund treatment for 10 Veterans in need of relief from their service-related conditions. Today, 10 more Veterans are on Koterra’s waitlist, ready to access treatment for PTSD and brain injuries through this partnership.

An Urgent Need for Veteran Brain Injury Treatment

In the two decades from 2000-2021, more than 450,000 U.S. service members were diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. An estimated 11% to 20% of Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan experience PTSD. Among those who have sustained a TBI, the risk of developing PTSD doubles.

These conditions are complex and often resistant to traditional care. While medications and therapies may address symptoms, these interventions frequently overlook the physical damage to brain structure and chemistry caused by both physical and psychological trauma. The demand for innovative, non-pharmaceutical options for Veterans has never been greater.

That’s where the Aviv Medical Program offers hope.

The Aviv Medical Program: Evidence-Based Treatment for Veterans

At Aviv Clinics, we offer a highly personalized program designed to target the root causes of cognitive, neurological and physical challenges. Depending on the individual’s specific needs, the program may include:

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
Cognitive exercises
Physical training
Nutritional coaching and support
Additional therapies as prescribed by Aviv’s clinical team

An evidence-based hyperbaric oxygen therapy protocol plays a central role in the Aviv Medical Program. Clinical studies have shown that this therapy can promote neuroplasticity, stimulate stem cell activity, and enhance blood flow in damaged brain tissue. Research conducted by Dr. Shai Efrati and colleagues at the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine in Israel, where the Aviv hyperbaric protocol was developed, has demonstrated statistically significant improvements in memory, attention, executive function, and PTSD symptom severity in Veterans treated with HBOT.

Watch: CBS Sunday Morning reports on the Aviv Protocol for treating PTSD.

The Aviv Medical Program is not a one-size-fits-all treatment. Each plan is tailored to the Veteran’s needs, guided by a detailed series of assessments and evaluations. Our evidence-based care for Veterans offers measurable results in both physical and cognitive performance.

Koterra’s Mission: Veteran Healthcare Funding and Advocacy

Koterra was created to ensure that more Veterans have access to therapies that can truly change their lives, regardless of whether those treatments are currently covered by insurance or the VA. But the organization’s mission goes far beyond direct support.

Koterra is actively involved in Veteran healthcare advocacy, working to influence long-term policy change. By collecting and sharing clinical data from each Veteran they sponsor, Koterra helps build the case that innovative, science-backed PTSD and TBI treatments should be covered by both the VA and private insurers.

“Our partnership with Koterra is a powerful step toward making life-changing treatments more accessible to the Veterans who need them most,” says Dion Atchison, Aviv Clinics COO and U.S. Army Veteran. “Together, we are providing vital care that can help improve the cognitive and physical well-being of Veterans, and in turn, gathering critical data that will support the broader adoption of therapies like hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the VA system.”

Building Momentum: Expanding Access to HBOT for Veterans Nationwide

That advocacy, by Koterra and other like-minded organizations, is beginning to gain traction. Several states have launched pilot programs through their Veterans Affairs departments to cover HBOT for qualified Veterans. And at the federal level, momentum is building. In May 2024, the HBOT Access Act for Veterans — a bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives — moved forward after passing out of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. If signed into law, the bill would potentially expand access to HBOT for Veterans struggling with TBI and PTSD.

Koterra’s work, in partnership with Aviv Clinics, is helping lay the groundwork to support further change.

How You Can Help Fund PTSD and TBI Treatment for Veterans

Veterans who complete the Aviv Medical Program often describe it as transformative. They report clearer thinking, improved mood, better sleep, and renewed energy. Many return to work, reconnect with loved ones, and reclaim parts of their lives that once felt out of reach.

Veteran Treatment Success Story: Norman Moser

One such Veteran is Norman Moser, who sustained multiple traumatic brain injuries during his 40 years of military service. Battling severe suicidal ideation, Moser came to Koterra in search of lasting healing and found it through treatment at Aviv. Today, his cognitive function, sleep, anxiety, and physical endurance have dramatically improved.

“After decades of living with the invisible wounds of service—traumatic brain injuries, memory loss, and relentless anxiety—I had nearly given up hope. Aviv didn’t just help me recover; it gave me my life back,” said Moser. “I can think clearly, sleep deeply, and enjoy things I thought I’d lost forever, like reading and driving. My endurance has skyrocketed—I’m running again for the first time in years. For the first time in a long time, I feel strong, focused, and truly alive.”

But for every Veteran like Moser who completes treatment, others are still waiting.

Support Treatment and Advocacy for Veteran Care

Koterra currently has 10 Veterans waiting for funding to receive care at Aviv Clinics. These men and women have served our country and are now seeking the care they need to reclaim their lives.

You can help. If you’d like to sponsor PTSD treatment for Veterans and help fund advanced brain injury support, please consider donating to Koterra today. Your gift will help provide treatment for those on the waitlist and expand access to effective, evidence-based Veteran care.

Donate to Koterra's Mission

Visit www.koterra.org/ to make a contribution or learn more.