The Home Base Charlestown expansion aims to treat traumatic brain injuries in veterans.

Grand opening of two new clinics in the city. Home baseThe nonprofit organization, run by the Red Sox Foundation and Mass General Brigham, has attracted political leaders, business leaders, veterans and members of the public.

Home Base teamed with Suffolk Construction and Wounded Warrior Project on the $5.1 million project that added 5,500 square feet of new clinical space.

Retired Brigadier General Jack Hammond, who joined dignitaries to cut the large blue ribbon, called the expansion a “great step forward”.

“This expansion will improve the quality of care we can provide,” said Hammond, Home Base’s executive director. “It will also allow us to double the number of special operations team members that come here every week.”

The Suffolk Innovation Clinic and the Wounded Warrior Project’s Brain Health and Special Operations Effectiveness Clinic are located on the third floor.

“This is a project that is near and dear to each of us in our organization,” said John Fish, chief executive officer of Suffolk Construction, who serves on Home Base’s supervisory board. “To have the opportunity to be a member of such a selfless organization. . . it means the world to us.”

The clinics will target special operations veterans with neurological, psychological and physical conditions associated with traumatic brain injury. Research will focus on developing new techniques and treatments to improve veterans’ brain health.

“Our veterans and our warriors should never be seen as a burden to society,” said retired Lt. Gen. Walt Piatt, chief executive officer of the Wounded Warrior Project. “They should be the leaders of society because they are the ones who make us free.”

In her speech, Ekoniak spoke movingly about her 10 years in the military and the help she received at the base. In Iraq and Afghanistan, her work involved analyzing and sharing intelligence to prevent attacks on U.S. troops.

But there was one attack that no one saw coming. Eight soldiers were killed and the memories “will haunt me for years to come,” she said.

“You can’t stop them all,” Ekoniak said, her voice shaking. “I wish I could have done more that day, and that’s one of the reasons I don’t sleep well, one of the reasons I came to the base.”

As a result of an unsuccessful jump into the air, she received a traumatic brain injury. Still, she continued to serve, even after 16 surgeries, rehabilitation and physical therapy “for injuries that never healed.”

At the suggestion of her husband and friend, she sought treatment at Home Base.

“Home Base was the first time I felt like I was truly listened to,” said Ekoniak, who works in a civilian role with the Department of Defense providing assistance to veterans. “For years I went to doctors and they turned me away.”

At Home Base, she finally had an MRI of her brain, a test she never had during her military service. “I feel relieved to know that there is a reason why things are going wrong and I am on the path to healing,” she said.

She recalled the painful reality of veterans dying by suicide and encouraged the veterans in attendance to prioritize their health.

“Please take a break for yourself,” she said. “Live a life worth living. If it’s pain, it’s a migraine. . . If your PTSD symptoms are preventing you from doing this, please take some time for yourself.”

The audience stood up to give her a standing ovation.

---

Kiera McDonald can be reached at [email protected].