November 6, 2021
Surrey, BC (November 4, 2021) – As construction on Legion Veterans Village (LVV) continues to progress with Remembrance Day fast approaching, LVV has established its Centre of Clinical Excellence Leadership Team, comprised of renowned science and clinical experts to lead the PTSD, mental health and rehabilitation, as well as oversee the clinical research and innovation activities of LVV.
In addition, LVV has formalized the Legion Veterans Village Research Foundation (LVVRF) to serve as its non-profit charitable research arm to initiate clinical research studies in the areas of rehabilitation and brain health including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental wellness and other neurological conditions significantly impacting veterans, first responders and their families.
“It’s inspiring to see the incredible progress that is happening every day at the LVV construction site and we are already making inroads in bringing the latest innovative technologies and clinical research studies to the Centre that will benefit veterans, first responders and their families,” says Dr. Venu Karapareddy, Founder/Director of Actum Health who is the lead Psychiatrist on LVV’s Centre of Clinical Excellence Leadership Team. “I am incredibly passionate about providing and developing innovative care solutions for those with PTSD and mental health, addictions, pain and cognitive issues and look forward to building these services at LVV.”
Located on the corner of City Parkway and 106th Avenue in downtown Surrey, the phase one LVV building consists of the Centre of Clinical Excellence for PTSD and mental health, as well as an Innovation Centre for Rehabilitation, offering a continuum of programs and services for veterans and first responders focusing on clinical rehabilitation services, research and health care programs, and services and trauma counseling for PTSD and mental health. Once completed in late 2022, phase one will also house the brand new 10,500 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility for the Whalley Legion Branch 229, which will include a cadet assembly hall, banquet facilities, an industrial kitchen, coffee shop, bar/restaurant area, and underground parking.
The LVV Centre of Clinical Excellence Leadership Team is currently commissioning the operational models and partnerships to initiate and rapidly deploy clinical research studies that will focus on the evaluation of evidence-based clinical interventions on mental health and PTSD for veterans, military, and first responders. The critical initiatives will subsequently expand to include frontline healthcare workers and others as a result of the mental health impacts of the COVID crisis.
The LVV Clinical Excellence Leadership Team consists of:
- Ryan D’Arcy as Chief Scientist. He is a world-renowned neuroscientist, innovator, researcher, Simon Fraser University professor and holds the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation BC Leadership Chair in Multimodal Technology for Healthcare Innovations.
- Venu Karapareddy, a Psychiatrist and Founder/Director of Actum Health, who specializes in PTSD, mental health and addictions, and is currently a UBC clinical assistant professor.
- Ashok Krishnamoorthy as a Clinical Research Lead at LVV. He currently works at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority as the Medical Director and Department Head of Psychiatry at Richmond Hospital.
- Rowena Rizzotti as LVV Project Lead and Board Director for LVVRF, is the VP of Healthcare and Innovation at Lark Group, and an original co-founder of LVV.
- Debbie Greene as Operational Director is a CPA with a background in social services. She is the wife of Canadian war veteran Trevor Greene. Debbie is a brain injury and veteran issues advocate and has been instrumental in Trevor’s inspirational and ongoing rehabilitation and recovery from a devastating brain injury acquired in Afghanistan.
“We are getting closer every day to being able to serve our veteran community in our brand new facility,” says Tony Moore, President of the Whalley Legion Branch 229. “Hopefully by next November 2022, we’ll be able to hold our first Remembrance Day ceremony at the new Legion Veterans Village. In the meantime, we continue to operate out of our temporary location down the street where our veterans and local community can come enjoy great conversations over a pint of beer.”
The Whalley Legion will be holding their 2021 Remembrance Day service at 10:30am on November 11th, at their temporary location at 10767 King George Blvd.
About Legion Veterans Village (LVV)
The Legion Veterans Village is a unique $312-million, two-phase, multi-purpose social infrastructure project in the City of Surrey, led by the BC/Yukon Command of the Royal Canadian Legion, together with Whalley Legion Branch 229 and Lark Group. The project includes a mix of 495 market housing condominiums, 91 affordable housing units, a Centre for Clinical Excellence for veterans and first responders focusing on PTSD and mental health, an Innovation Centre for Rehabilitation and a new facility for the Whalley Legion Branch 229.
Once completed (slated for late 2022), a key priority will be the integrated delivery of a continuum of programs and services for veterans and first responders, as well as contributing training and research towards new practices, interventions and technologies in mental health, counselling, engineering, robotics and advancements in neuroscience, etc. www.legionveteransvillage.com
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Media contact: Yvonne Chiang, news@chiangpr.ca, 604-880-5090.
