Manhattan VA To Launch ER For Female Vets Suffering From Military Sexual Trauma

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Manhattan doctor is leading the way in trying to get women, who have had "horrible" experiences serving in the armed forces, the help they need.

Doctor Nancy Lutwak has spearheaded an emergency room exclusively for female veterans who have suffered from military sexual trauma.

The ER at the Manhattan VA Hospital is the first of its kind among the 117 VA emergency rooms across the United States.

"Women veterans have very special problems and it seemed to us that it was really appropriate for us to make a special area just for woman veterans, where they would feel more comfortable," Lutwak told 1010 WINS.

Lutwak said female vets need such institutions because of the difficult circumstances surrounding military sexual trauma.

"A lot of women who had experienced military sexual trauma really had no one to turn to...to talk about it and were trying to live with it on their own and had a lot of anxiety and a lot of guilt or fear related to the experience," she said.

Lutwak said once women indicate they have experienced trauma and want counseling, they immediately set up appointments with a coordinator to begin getting them the help they need.

"The women have said to me on a number of occasions 'We are so happy that you are asking us this question because no one's asked us about this before,'" Lutwak said.

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