About Us

Military members, Veterans, and PSP willingly put their lives on the line and stand ready to serve at home and abroad. Exposure to stressful and potentially traumatic events can heighten their risk of developing operational stress injuries (OSIs) including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Moral Injury (MI). OSIs can impact physical and mental health, quality of life, well-being, relationships, and the ability to work and contribute to the mission. Focused and coordinated efforts to determine effective prevention strategies, interventions, services and supports that enable military members, Veterans, and PSP to be resilient, ready and growth-oriented will benefit them, their families, the organization, and the mission at hand. 

Goals

HiMARC will support the readiness, resilience and growth of military members, Veterans, and PSP through:

• Collaborations – Bringing together partners across Alberta, Canada and beyond
• Partnerships – Coordinating synergies among committed individuals and organizations
• Innovations – Advancing Alberta-based innovations that can be translated to the civilian sector
• Research – Creating and evaluating evidence-based interventions and technological innovations, including use of virtual reality (VR), portable systems & effective internet-based applications
• Implementation – Development, implementation and scale-up of evidence-based products

Future Plans and Impact

HiMARC plans to develop and trial innovations to enhance resilience, address concerns across military, Veteran, PSP and healthcare groups, and translate them for real-world applications. Building resilience, health and well-being will enable military members, Veterans, PSP, their families and organizations to thrive. 

• Resilient individuals are the drivers of vibrant and strong families, teams and communities, and the engine behind a potent and diverse force.
• Innovative, cost-effective technologies and interventions can be used to enhance resilience, health & well-being, and address trauma, OSIs, and mental/physical health concerns arising from service, or exposure to adversity (e.g., natural disasters, pandemics).
• Strategies to facilitate successful workforce reintegration offer valuable opportunities.
• Sustainability, spread & scale of interventions and innovations in Alberta, Canada and beyond will gain substantive leverage from key partners.