Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner Received an Award From the U.S. Army

Tom Werner and the United States Army’s Chief of Staff, General Raymond T. Odierno

Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner was honored with the U.S. Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Award in October. The award, which is only given to a few people each year, is for Werner’s “outstanding contribution to soldiers and their families,” for his involvement in the creation of the Home Base Program.

The Home Base Program was created in 2009 through a partnership between the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to help Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families who are dealing with combat or deployment-related stress and injuries. The program treats the “invisible wounds of war” like PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). But unlike other programs, Home Base doesn’t stop with veterans. It also provides clinical care and support services throughout New England for families of veterans. To date, more than 1,000 veterans and their family members have received clinical care or support through the program.

Starting in early 2015, the Home Base Program is planning to expand its clinical treatments. While the focus is primarily on treating PTSD and TBI, the program is going to develop ways to treat depression, substance abuse, chronic stress, and other “invisible wounds” veterans bring home with them. Planning is already underway to develop a 14-day intensive treatment option to address these needs.

The program has raised $22 million its inception, and $16.5 million has come from the Red Sox Foundation, where Werner also serves as chairman.

The Home Base clinic is located at 101 Merrimac St., Suite 250 in Boston.