Latest news with #RogerKoch
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Roger Koch, with Ozark Center, honored as 2025 Mental Health Champion
Roger Koch, a U.S. Army veteran who oversees Ozark Center's Veteran Integration Program, was recently named a 2025 Mental Health Champion by the Missouri Mental Health Foundation. Koch was one of three winners chosen from a pool of nearly 50 nominees. The award was presented May 1 at the Foundation's banquet in Jefferson City. Missouri Mental Health Champions are people who make positive contributions to their community, and whose actions have increased independence in others with similar mental health conditions. Koch was recognized for his one-on-one work with military veterans struggling with mental health issues, primarily post-traumatic stress disorder. He served in the U.S. Army from 1985-2005, including an 18-month combat deployment to Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and returned with PTSD symptoms. After retiring from the military in 2005, he said in a statement: 'I chose to do what most combat veterans do, and that's to bottle everything up and cope with things the best way I knew." He said he kept his PTSD struggles bottled up inside for 14 years before his wife suggested he seek professional treatment. 'I must admit, asking for help was a huge first step for me,' Koch said in a statement. 'You figure, throughout my military career, it had been overly emphasized that a veteran should never ask for help or need assistance; it was considered a weakness if you did. Once I finally let my guard down and talked openly to mental health professionals, it didn't take them very long to diagnose me with anxiety, anger issues, depression and PTSD.' It was around this time that he earned of Ozark Center's search for a local veteran to lead its VIP program, working with other veterans and their mental struggles. Due to his veteran status, and because he's familiar with PTSD's destructive and disruptive power, he discovered it was easy for him to connect with the veterans he counseled. 'Being a veteran seems to make the conversations more open,' Koch said. 'I'm not sure if it's because of the 'trusting another veteran' thing or being able to speak and understand the military jargon. Nonetheless, veterans tend to open up easier to other veterans."
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medical Focus: Veteran suicide
JOPLIN, Mo. — Veteran suicide is under the microscope in Missouri, with trends showing the state is higher than both the national veteran suicide rate and the national suicide rate overall. 'We've worked on suicide. One is too many in our eyes, definitely mine as a veteran, but the state as a whole, state of Missouri, is working more and more to lower this number. Yes, we would ideally get to zero. That's our main goal,' said Roger Koch, Ozark Center, Vet Integration Program military liaison. And Koch points out that there is help for veterans who need it. 'Counseling is the big piece here. But that can vary in a lot of different ways. Sometimes counseling for some veterans is just having another person to talk with, just to open up, get with groups. As I said, the integration is a big thing. So getting them integrated, understanding they're not out there by themselves, that there are other veterans.' Koch works with the Veteran Integration Program through Freeman Health System and Ozark Center. 'I tell most veterans talk if you want to talk, but you can just listen. We aren't going to push anyone to do anything. We just would like for veterans to open up, to reach out, ask for help, and then the hardest part, accept the help, because we are here for them,' said Koch. He points to that feeling of isolation that plagues many vets. 'That's the farthest from the truth. Believe it or not, there are veterans all around. And even if you're not a veteran, just someone that has a heart for a veteran, I encourage them to reach out, just to be there as a listening ear.' We've got a link to more about the VIP program here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
