A board-certified nurse practitioner at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox is using his skills and experiences to help other veterans like himself manage their post-traumatic stress syndrome symptoms.

Brian Skraba, 39, a U.S. Marine veteran who served from 2004 to 2008 – including one deployment to Iraq – currently is working on his doctorate in nursing. And as part of that doctorate, Skraba said he is creating an assessment tool for K9s for Veterans, which he joined in 2019.

“I’m working with them on getting processes in place to help show – through validated assessment tools using my nursing skills – to show how much benefit these dogs provide," Skraba said.

K9s for Veterans helps “veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder transition back to civilian life once their military service has ended with the help of trained service dogs,” according to the nonprofit’s website.

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Skraba’s yellow lab, Murphy, came from K9s for Veterans about two years ago to help him with anxiety.

“And we’re training him to wake me up from nightmares,” Skraba said.

Skraba said he’s hoping that a process that assesses veterans before and after they receive their service dogs from K9 for Veterans could help make the nonprofit eligible for federal grants.

“We would actually have some hard proof to show the dogs are improving the lives of veterans,” Skraba said.

Michael Tellerino of Plainfield, a U.S. Army veteran and founder of K9s for Veterans and the Forgotten Warrior Memorial, is thrilled with Skraba’s efforts.

“It’s a good way of tracking the progress these veterans are making – other than seeing them every day and seeing them when they’re training,” Tellerino said. “This gives us a more in-depth view of how they’re progressing and how the dog is helping them with that.”

Tellerino said Skraba is “a natural fit” for this project due to his knowledge, skills and compassion for other veterans.

“He’s a brilliant guy; he really is,” Tellerino said. “I think the world of him. His heart is in the right place. He puts veterans first.”

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Foundation in service

Skraba said participation in Boy Scouts in the organization now called Scouting America – and earning his Eagle Scout award – provided the foundation for a life of service.

After his military service, Skraba was leaning toward a career in police or fire service and needed emergency medical technician training for the latter, he said.

During Skraba’s EMT training, he discovered a passion for emergency medicine, which led to a desire to care for entire families, he said.

“I thought, ‘I could do this for the rest of my career,’” Skraba said. “I liked having that working relationship with people and being able to effect a positive change in their lives. I liked the working relationships with families and the patients feeling comfortable in getting medical care.”

Skraba also participated in activities with Wounded Warrior Project from 2010 to 2013 (He received a Purple Heart on March 13, 2005, because of injuries he suffered in a blast from an improvised explosive device in Iraq.), which helped him find a “brotherhood” again.

He loves Silver Cross’ “family values” and said the hospital really espouses the mission “it talks about in orientation.”

“And it definitely shows,” Skraba said.