THE HYPERBARIC INSTITUTE RELEASES FILM: VA DENIES HBOT FOR TBI & PTSD AS 22 VETERANS DIE DAILY

Award-Winning Documentary Calls for Policy Change – "It's deadlier for a soldier to come home from war than it is to go to combat."

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hyperbaric Institute announces an award-winning documentary screening at the National Press Club. Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day from traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Using evidence-based storytelling, the film exposes a preventable crisis: why hyperbaric oxygen therapy—despite showing promising results in published research—remains unavailable to veterans through VA coverage.

Undeniable Evidence: Clean Medicine. Dirty Politics  won Best Documentary at the Syracuse International Film Festival and is nominated for Best Documentary at the MV Shorts LA Film Festival. The film documents the gap between clinical research and Department of Defense policy on HBOT for the conditions underlying the veteran suicide epidemic.

Since 9/11, over 155,000 veterans have died by suicide—19 times more than combat deaths. Published research by Dr. Paul Harch and others demonstrates promising outcomes for HBOT in treating blast-damaged brains, documented through brain imaging. Yet, the VA still denies coverage for this treatment.

Inspired by Dr. Harch's book The Oxygen Revolution, the documentary exposes institutional barriers preventing veteran access to alternative treatments. The screening presents evidence supporting Congressional review and two bills currently in Congress:

● House: H.R. 1336 – Veterans National Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act (Rep. Dr. Greg Murphy, R-NC)
● Senate: S. 2737 – Veterans National Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act (Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-AL)

Fourteen states have already passed legislation supporting hyperbaric treatment access for veterans.

About Dr. Paul G. Harch:
Dr. Paul Harch is a New Orleans-based physician and researcher who has applied hyperbaric oxygen therapy for traumatic brain injury since 1989. He has published numerous peer-reviewed studies on HBOT for TBI and PTSD. Dr. Harch and his senior partner, Keith Van Meter, are launching the first hyperbaric-equipped ambulance in the United States, debuting in New Orleans in spring 2026.

THE HYPERBARIC UNIVERSE: EMERGENCY BRIEFING
A 45-minute screening featuring multiple short documentaries.
Q&A with Dr. Paul Harch, Juliette Lucarini-Harch, R.N., and filmmaker John Salcedo, U.S. Army veteran, to follow.

EVENT DETAILS:
National Press Club
529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20045
November 18, 2025 | Doors open 6:00 PM | Screening 7:00 PM
RSVP: [email protected]

Contact: The Hyperbaric Institute | John Salcedo | [email protected]

SOURCE Hyperbaric Institute