The Priddy Family Foundation is donating $1 million to the Tulane University Center for Brain Health (TUCBH) to help treat military veterans suffering from mild traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health issues related to their service. With an emphasis on music therapy, the Priddy Family Brain Health Fund will support the TUCBH’s delivery of intensive outpatient care at Tulane Medical Center. 

“This gift shows the thoughtful, innovative and personal approach the Priddys take in creating and supporting efforts designed to have a life-changing and lifesaving impact on the many who are battling wounds and ailments sometimes overlooked or forgotten by society,” Tulane President Michael Fitts said. 

“This donation will allow us to build a robust integrative medicine component to our intensive outpatient program. By offering a range of nontraditional therapies — including yoga, art, music and canine — we’re able to take a holistic, patient-focused approach to treating these warriors with invisible wounds,” said
Dr. Gregory Stewart, the W. Kennon McWilliams Professor of Sports Medicine in Orthopaedics and co-founder and co-director for the Tulane Center for Sport, of which the TUCBH is a part. 

“This is the welcome I’ve been waiting for since I came back from Vietnam — after 50 years,” one grateful veteran said. “The staff at the TUCBH sat me down and for three days went over the physical and mental injuries that have been affecting my life for decades.”

The Priddy Family Foundation includes Robert (UC ’69), and Kikie Priddy; their daughter, Shannon Priddy Acks, and her husband, Michael Acks; and their son, Christopher Priddy. 

In 2018 it gave $1 million to the Tulane Brain Institute for the Priddy Family Spark Research Endowed Fund, created to provide competitive awards to faculty for early-stage research.