March is Brain Injury Awareness Month!

Help students, seniors, motorcyclists, and yourself Live Better Longer.  Join the Brain Injury Association, the CDC and the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force in celebrating March as Brain Injury Awareness Month.

Materials are available for this campaign through the CDC.

March 21, 2008

Great News - Medicaid Buy-In for Workers with Disabilities Begins April 1st (source: ODMRDD)
 

Wall Street Journal article, 1/29/2008:

HIDDEN TRAUMA
Studies Cite Head Injuries
As Factor in Some Social Ills

Link to the Wall Street Journal's article.  

BIAOH offered testimony to the Human Services Subcommittee of the Ohio House Finance and Appropriations Committee in support of RSC’s (Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission) budget.  BIAOH supports full funding for RSC, or an increase of about $8.5 million, so that the full federal VR match can be received by Ohio.  This is essential for avoiding any reduction in funding to Ohio's Brain Injury Program which would weaken or reduce the already limited services available for people with brain injury.

Testimony (word document or PDF document)

Attachments (all PDF documents):

Ohio Revised Code addressing Brain Injury

BIAOH CSN Map

BIAOH's Ohio Plan

Ohio Legal Rights Service's Needs Assessment summary

BIAOH hosted an Open House on March 29, 2007 to complete our observation of Brain Injury Awareness Month!

View the pdf version of the invitation postcard here.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month!

Currently, there are at least 5.3 million Americans living with a disability because of a brain injury and the estimated lifetime costs of brain injury (including direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity) totaled $60 billion in 2000. Every 23 seconds a traumatic brain injury occurs, and in the next year, an average of 1.4 million Americans will sustain a traumatic brain injury.

To raise awareness about brain injury and its life-altering consequences, BIAOH has teamed with the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) to provide Brain Injury Awareness Month materials. The theme of the 2007 campaign is, Brain Injury: As Diverse As We Are. 

To Iraq and Back – February 27, 2007, 10 pm, ABC

Life-Threatening Injury Spurred Woman to Fight for Her Business
BUSINESS FIRST - Columbus, Ohio - July 28, 2006 - By: Tim Puet

Nine years ago, a life-threatening injury almost ended Teresa Daniel’s career as a business owner just as her company was beginning to succeed.
But she was determined to keep the business going, and today her document management business is flourishing.  Click here to read the full article or view the WCMH-TV4 interview.

Calling All Artists and Individuals

with a Creative Impulse!

BIAOH announces a Contest to design the cover for BIAOH’s Annual Conference, “25 Years – A Kaleidoscope of Change” September 28 & 29, 2006 at the Columbus Airport Marriott Hotel.

Prizes:           1^st Place: $100      2^nd Place: $50      3^rd Place: $25 

Deadline:      Friday September 1, 2006 

Submit:         8 ½” X 11” reproducible artwork (drawings, collages, painting & mixed media) along with completed contest entry form, attached.   

In selecting contest winners, BIAOH’s judges will consider how well the cover designs relate to the conference title (“25 Years – A Kaleidoscope of Change”) and/or topical focus noted announcement form.

All submissions become the property of Brain Injury Association of Ohio and your signature on the application gives permission to use your design on BIAOH’s website, future publications, slide shows, displays, and in other venues promoting education and awareness provided credit is given the artist(s). 

Send to:        BIAOH Conference Planning Committee

Mike Glenn & Linda Robinson Benbow, Co- Chairs

1335 Dublin Road, Suite 217D

Columbus, OH 43215-1000

Phone: 614-481-7100          Fax: 614-481-7103

E-mail:  jkellum@biaoh.org

Download the announcement and entry form here:

         Word document           PDF document

Update Memo, released August 1, 2005.  Read up on conference news and recent events at BIAOH.

Word Document          PDF Document        

July 20, 2005: We received notice that Ohio University's School of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences is looking for "Paid Volunteers with Aphasia and/or Communication Difficulty Following Stroke or Brain Injury."  Individuals age 20 and over are paid $45 for participation in a study on the use of eye movement measures to assess comprehension.  Individuals with aphasia are being scheduled now for visits in Columbus at the Ohio University Clinical Research Site, near Eastland Mall.  Call or email Brooke Hallowell for more information:  740-593-1356 or 866-889-0320, hallowel@ohio.edu.

August, 2005: The Miracle League of Central Ohio plans to open a baseball league for children ages 3-21 with any type of physical and/or mental disability.  Registration begins in early August and games are expected to begin in late August.  Their new facility in Dublin will also include an accessible playground featuring a raised sandbox.  Read their introduction letter.

Kelley's Island Perch Derby - Thanks for a great fundraiser!   The 6th Annual Kelley's Island Winery & Restaurant Perch Derby was held on June 6, 2005. 

David’s Ride Planned for June 25, 2005 to Raise Awareness About Brain Injury

Brain Injury Association of America responds to Terri Schiavo's case.

BIAOH released an Update Memo with news and information geared toward support group leaders, association members and brain injury advocates throughout the state.  Read the Update Memo (word document) or Update Memo (pdf file).

Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS) has issued an alert regarding voters' rights in Ohio.  Read more about these voters' rights in the March Voter Alert.

Suzanne Minnich, Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Ohio presented testimony before the Ohio House of Representatives' Human Services Subcommittee.  Read her February 22, 2005 testimony: Budget Testimony (word document) or Budget Testimony (pdf file)

BIAOH and another non-profit organization were selected to receive the proceeds of this event. The owners, Bret & Lynn Maiers, know someone who has suffered a brain injury, so that is why BIAOH was chosen.

A total of 12 boats entered the fishing contest. There were raffles for prizes and money awards, and even a joke prize for the smallest perch. The restaurant staff fried the perch, roasted two pigs, and made side dishes for the meal. The staff and others brought the deserts including Balinda Walters, BIAOH representative, who attended the event.

Everyone had a great time and they all agreed that the money was going for a good cause.  Thanks again, Bret and Lynn, the staff of Kelley's Island Winery & Restaurant and everyone who attended!

David’s Ride Planned for June 25, 2005 to Raise Awareness About Brain Injury

Paoli, Pa. (April 22, 2005) – On July 10, 2004, Dr. David Strauss lost a 19 month battle with brain cancer. Dr. Strauss, a neuropsychologist, dedicated his professional life to working with people with acquired brain injury. His energy and passion extended far beyond those he treated – it extended to their families, his co-workers and other professionals. Dr. Strauss was an active, athletic man who enjoyed anything outdoors and physically challenging – running, biking, skiing, tennis, hiking – anything to get outdoors.

In keeping with Dr. Strauss’ passions, on June 25, 2005, ReMed employee and Pennsylvania Brain Injury Association Board Member, Shammah Bermudez will be riding his bicycle from ReMed’s office in Malvern, PA to the Pennsylvania Brain Injury Association’s annual conference in Harrisburg, PA – a journey of 100 miles. His journey will begin at 8:00am.

“I plan to use this ride to create awareness about brain injury and raise money in David’s honor,” says Mr. Bermudez. “The proceeds from the ride will benefit the David L. Strauss Memorial Scholarship, which assists survivors of brain injury in defraying the cost of attending the annual statewide conference.”

“It is my hope that David’s Ride becomes an annual event,” says ReMed’s Chief Executive Officer, Joanne Finegan. “ David was a renowned figure in the field of brain injury rehabilitation and his spirit for awareness and advocacy can be kept alive through efforts like this one.”

For more information, contact Ann Pereira-Ogan, Director of Marketing
484-595-9300

The Brain Injury Association of America has issued a memorandum expressing their views on Terri Schiavo's case.  Read the memorandum (word document, pdf file).

Members of disabilities commission anxious to serve city

By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com, The Marietta Times,  Friday, March 04, 2005

After more than a year of planning, the first meeting for Marietta's Commission on Disabilities has been set after members were announced Thursday.

Mayor Michael Mullen selected nine people for the commission from a list of about 30 applicants. The commission will report to the mayor and City Council about issues including transportation, recreation, housing and employment.
"Eight of the nine people chosen are members of the disabled community rather than advocates for the disabled," Mullen said. "We only had nine positions and we thought it was really important that these people represent the constituency we want to serve."

Some members both have disabilities and serve as advocates.

The commission will have its first meeting March 24, with new members already talking about issues they'd like to address.

"I think housing should be a huge priority," said commission member Doris Whitehair, 38. "There is so little housing in Marietta that is handicapped accessible."

Whitehair said she has seen the city from a much different perspective since she was paralyzed from the chest down in a motorcycle accident in 2003. She wants to share that perspective within the commission.

"I went from being a perfectly healthy person to one with disabilities overnight and it was like a brand new world," she said. "I noticed so many things that need to be done."

Everything from curb cuts in the sidewalks to forming a broader transportation system for the disabled is on the mind of commission member Mary Jo Patterson, 57.

"I'm in a wheelchair and disabled myself so I really wanted to help with this," Patterson said. "I think it's important that everyone feel like they're part of the community."

The first meeting will be mostly organizational, with some brainstorming and planning of goals, said Mullen. He said the group will also likely utilize the expertise of some of the advocates who applied on an advisory basis.

"This is really all about having low barriers to involvement and encouraging people across the board to be engaged, involved and active," Mullen said. "We want to remove both the physical and attitudinal barriers and really empower people. That's a sign of a healthy community."

Commission on Disabilities members

* Cindy Auker                    * David Long
* Tracy Milligan                  * Mary Jo Patterson
* Linda Sue Pifer               * Steve Thomas
* Barbara Tilley                  * Doris Whitehair
* Michele Willard

For more information

Cindy Auker, The Brain Injury Association of Ohio, 740-374-8716 ext. 2139

http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/034202005_new07diusabilty.asp

In a Split Second, A New Reality
Nothing can prepare a person for the changes brought on by a traumatic brain injury.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Rena A. Koontz PHOTOGRAPHY: John Kuntz
 

Dean Hanson is trying to remember how long he has been married.

He takes a deep breath and squints as if to focus his thoughts. He chews his thumb tentatively as he reasons out loud, using his fingers to count. His oldest son is 24 and he believes it was before that.

His left leg bounces nervously, momentarily catching the attention of Roo, the 3-year-old golden retriever canine assistant stretched out at his feet.

Dean rubs his forehead in thought. But his injured brain can't process the information he needs for the answer. Finally, with a wide, childlike smile, the 45-year-old declares: "I know it's not 25 years because she would never let me forget that."

Once, in what seems like another lifetime, Dean could recall batting averages and scores for the professional baseball teams he followed and the youth baseball and soccer teams he coached. He would recognize a boy's face, know his name, recall which street he lived on and who his parents were. He was head of sales and the top salesman for a Cleveland company that sold welding equipment and supplies and robotics components to automotive and appliance industries. The father of three pulled in an annual salary that easily afforded his $225,000 Berea home.

That was another Dean Hanson. That was before the 1999 car accident that left him brain injured.

Lori Hanson knew nothing about traumatic brain injury (TBI) before that 3 a.m. call on April 18, 1999. Today, she spouts statistics, cites specific cases and looks knowingly and lovingly at her husband.

Lori and Dean were high-school sweethearts. They married after Lori's first marriage ended. Her son, Keith, was three years old. Dean later adopted him. Since the accident, Dean is more child than husband, so much so that Lori refers to herself as "mommy-wife." It is not an easy transition and many women 90 percent end up leaving their brain-injured husbands.

The typical scenario, says Lori, is that after a traumatic brain injury, the men lose their jobs. Hard times cause the family to split and the household to dissolve.

Traumatic brain injury is the fastest growing of all disabilities among adults, according to the Brain Injury Association of Ohio. An estimated 227,000 Ohio residents have TBI.

You can't pick them out in a crowd.

"Our people can look like a million bucks," says Suzanne Minnich, executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Ohio. "That's why it is so hard for people to realize they have a disability" and cut them some slack.

Dean's injury did leave him with a permanent physical disability: The toes on his left foot curl under in involuntary spasms inside his shoe at the rate of one per minute, causing him to limp when he walks. The fingers on his left hand curl into a fist and his hand turns in toward his arm. To grasp something, Dean has to physically open the fingers with his right hand. Sometimes, he does this as he sits and talks, as if just noticing it is balled up.

That doesn't provide a clue as to what happened inside his head. The impact from the accident liquefied parts of Dean's brain, doctors told Lori. His brain swelled so much, doctors had to drill a hole in his head to monitor and relieve the pressure. His face was the size of a basketball and the color of an eggplant.

His injuries were extensive. Broken bones. A ruptured spleen that had to be removed. Damage to other internal organs. Ten times, his heart stopped beating and hospital personnel had to resuscitate him.

"He was a dead body on life support," says Lori.

Yet today he looks like a physically fit executive with sandy brown hair, sparkling blue eyes and a quick, easy smile. The damage inside is more difficult to see: The diminished cognitive skills, the memory loss.

"Many of them are still mentally healthy," Minnich says of TBI survivors. "They just have a brain injury. They may not be able to think as quickly, or to reason and deduce. The information is still in their brain, but they can't retrieve it."

Nationally, an estimated 5.3 million people are TBI disabled, second only to about 7.3 million Americans with mental retardation (See "Disability Prevalence Rates."). "It's the second largest disability group, and yet it is unrecognized by many," Minnich says.

"We're the elephant in the room."

Every 21 seconds someone incurs a traumatic brain injury, making it the No. 1 cause of death and disability for people under 44.

Thirty years ago, half of all people with brain injury died, Minnich says. Better emergency room care and improved medical technology have improved that number. Today, 22 percent of TBI patients survive. But it's the rare survivor who can return to his old life.

After Dean's accident, Lori knew Dean would not be able to return to work. Dean couldn't and still can't remember what he did for a living.

Jennifer Kraniske lost her livelihood, too. She was walking down a street in Memphis, Tennessee, one sunny day in 1996 when a loose piece of rebar (concrete reinforcement) fell from the roof of a construction site and pierced her head. The 32-year-old had to quit her job as the chef of a cruise line that sailed the Mississippi and move back home to Old Brooklyn with her parents.

Bob Norton, weary from a string of double shifts at the Lorain Power Plant, was eager to get to a family picnic in Conneaut when he fell asleep at the wheel in 1994. He crashed into a road abutment. He lost his job, his home and his family. Norton, now 54, lives in a one-room apartment in Olmsted Falls on about an $800 a month disability payment.

Dean Hanson's accident occurred on a business trip in California. He was with a co-worker from Strongsville when their rental car and a church bus collided head on, crushing and killing his co-worker, who was driving, and smashing Dean between the seats, the dash and the front end of the car.

In the time it takes to look up toward warning shouts, to yawn, to brace for impact, lives change.

Forever.

"The TBI individual will never, ever be the same," says Lori Hanson. "That's the hardest thing to realize and to accept.

"It was perhaps the cruelest thing the doctor said to me in the hospital as I stood by Dean's bed trying to make the best of things. But it was also the kindest thing, because it's the truth."

Dean's once-high, lilting voice is deeper and he speaks in a monotone. Lori says her children have a difficult time accepting that their dad doesn't sound the same.

Voices change. Personalities change. Whole years can be forgotten.

That's what happened to Jerry Boggs, who retired in January 2000. The 70-year-old was doing what he loved that July, riding his bicycle through the Metroparks in Berea. He was on the bike path and was wearing a helmet.

Police suspect a car hit him, leaving him lying alongside the road anywhere from three to six hours. His mangled bicycle lay nearby, his helmet still intact on his head. He was in a coma. When he regained consciousness in the hospital, his memory of everything that had happened to him from 1962 on was gone. That included his youngest daughter, who was born in late 1962.

Through rehabilitation, Jerry has learned to walk and talk and "appears normal," says his wife, Jo Ann. Much of his memory has returned.

"We're lucky. Jerry is 95 percent recovered. But there are things he still can't recall," says Jo Ann.

Short-term memory loss is typical for brain injury victims. Events immediately surrounding the accident disappear. Cognitive abilities perception, logic, judgment vanish. Dean Hanson can empty the last pill from a medicine bottle but not take the next step to have the prescription refilled.

The next day, he will wonder why the bottle is empty.

"One of the things he lost is to be able to look into the future," Lori says. Once, Dean used a kitchen towel to remove a casserole dish from the oven, and the towel caught on fire after it brushed against the electric coil. He knew it was a bad thing but could not process what was happening that his hand was burning and think to drop the towel. That's when Roo became part of the family. She is specially trained to tend to Dean. For example, should she sense he is going to have a seizure a common side effect of brain injury she will force him to sit down.

Jennifer Kraniske's memory loss wasn't apparent right away. When she was injured, she was knocked to the ground unconscious and arrived at a Memphis hospital dazed.

Nurses didn't realize she was confused and giving incorrect answers, including claiming she never lost consciousness. They stitched her up and sent her back to work.

In the ensuing weeks, Jennifer noticed some things were different. She was always tired. She suffered dizzy spells and had balance problems. Razor-sharp chopping knives no longer felt comfortable in her hand. Bright lights bothered her. Routine kitchen noises, like pots and pans clanging, resounded inside her head. She forgot things.

The passage of time hasn't helped.

"I can't remember some of the fundamentals that a chef knows," Jennifer says, tapping her forefinger on the table for emphasis. "Like osso buco. That's a basic. I can't tell you if it's veal or lamb."

It's veal.

"You can tell me that now and an hour from now I won't be able to tell you the answer," she says, her voice a mix of irritation and acceptance of what can't be changed.

Jennifer wears sunglasses indoors because her injury left her sensitive to light. If she removes the glasses, she keeps her eyes closed. She wears a musician's earplug in her left ear because she is highly sensitive to noise. She takes daytime naps.

She thought she could resume a life doing what she was trained to do but even a part-time job decorating cakes proved too exhausting.

Lawrence Katonak is dealing with a life different from that which he knew before his accident. Lawrence, 56, was on his way to the YMCA 41/2 years ago when his car was struck by a school bus. He didn't have a single broken bone, but the gear shift on the floor punctured his head. The nuclear engineer tried to return to work after his injuries healed but was unsuccessful.

"We can compete but not in a competitive world," he says. "The information is still in our heads, it just takes us longer to retrieve it, and in the workplace today, there is no time for that. We're not stupid; we're brain-injured."

But TBI victims' slowness often is perceived by others as dumbness or even retardation.

Lawrence still speaks fluent Spanish and remembers Italian, German and French. Lessons learned long ago remain in the brain's files, he says. But he can be introduced to a person and then not remember the person on a second meeting. He will know that he knows the person but not remember why or who it is.

More often than not, financial ruin awaits the TBI victim. Lori Hanson quit her job to care for her husband. The bills eventually forced them out of their home. Their church, the United Methodist Church of Berea, came to their rescue, offering the parsonage for them to live in. Lori says they want to repay the church for the roof over their heads.

They live on about $2,000 a month from Social Security Disability and Dean's work insurance policy, she says. Social Security Disability provides a monthly check to TBI sufferers but restricts them from making any extra money.

"Everyone thinks there was an accident and so there was a fat insurance settlement," Lori says incredulously. Five years after Dean was injured, the Hansons are still fighting their insurance company over liability and fault. That the accident took place out of state also complicates matters.

Jennifer has been seeking a settlement for almost eight years. She flips through a multipage letter from her attorneys as she sits around a table with friends from Hanson House, the support group Lori Hanson organized after her husband's accident. Jennifer's case is also a question of liability. The letter from her attorneys told her that because she has no physical disabilities, speaks well and has a vivacious personality, a jury is likely to not be too sympathetic if the case goes to trial. The message astounds her. Sometimes her fatigue is so encompassing, she can barely hold up her head.

Jennifer is usually the one to crack jokes with the group. When Lori reads the latest TBI statistics that men, who are the biggest risk takers, are usually the victims of TBI Jennifer quips, "Well I wish someone woulda told that piece of rebar that," drawing laughs from Lawrence and Bob.

"What good is a malady if you can't laugh at it," says Jennifer.

"Not one person here has received a big fat settlement and is on easy street," Lori says of the group.

That's part of the reason Lori founded the group. Once it became clear that Dean would survive the accident, Lori began to search for financial help and support. She discovered there are no state agencies, no social services to provide financial help, no service system in place to help TBI survivors.

Hanson House members now meet every Thursday. Each one knows the path his or her life has taken is not the road that was planned. There is comfort in sharing their woes.

Lori remains the catalyst for Hanson House. The group operates out of temporary space in the Berea Chamber of Commerce office. (Hanson House will relocate to the Berea Recreation Center as soon as the city works out the details.) Officially called the Hanson House Clubhouse, it is the only organized group in Ohio to offer support for TBI victims and their caretakers and one of only 10 in the United States.

Lori turned to Mayor Joseph Biddlecombe and Cyril Kleem, community development administrator, for help in finding a place Hanson House could call its own. Biddlecombe was the first to obtain grant money to start the clubhouse.

Lori organizes fund-raisers and is thankful that Hanson House is the beneficiary of an annual Kiwanis Club golf outing. Last year, the event raised $6,000.

"My dream is to get $10,000 someday. But I don't think that will ever happen," Lori says wistfully.

A core group of Hanson House members, including Jennifer Kraniske, Lawrence Katonak and Bob Norton, meets weekly to conduct the business of the organization, prepare a newsletter, tap funding sources, clean their space and plan social functions.

In addition to offering support for one another, the clubhouse gives them a purpose. In a world where they are told they can no longer perform meaningful tasks, Hanson House proves they can. Membership is about 150, and as word about the group spreads, it's increasing.

Not everyone can make every meeting. Jennifer tires easily fatigue is a common complaint among those with TBI and often is not up to the trip from Cleveland. Plus, she can no longer drive.

Along with Minnich of the Brain Injury Association of Ohio, Lori and Jo Ann Boggs are fighting to have TBI recognized by state legislators as a disability. Governor Bob Taft's Ohio Access Plan, approved in April and touted as the state's strategic plan to improve long-term services and support for people with disabilities, fails to include traumatic brain injury as a disability.

"We're trying to elbow our way into the larger disability community," Minnich says. "We are not even recognized by those groups.

"Most of us go along as taxpayers thinking, I pay my taxes and if I need government assistance, it's there," she continues. "It's shocking when it is not there or it is so spotty."

Lori Hanson discovered that a person with a traumatic brain injury can quality for benefits under the state MRDD (Mental Retardation Developmental Disabilities) act if he or she suffered the injury before age 22. For anyone injured after that and the statistics show most injuries occur between ages 22 and 45 there are no resources.

Some states provide services through Medicaid or have a designated agency for TBI. Some have established trust funds fed by fees such as drunken driving fines, specifically earmarked for TBI relief. Ohio has none of that.

Lori travels to Columbus monthly as a member of the Brain Injury Association of Ohio, which is lobbying for some of those changes, including a "vulnerable adult" designation, which would protect brain-injured people from being taken advantage of by salesmen.

Along with heading up Hanson House operations, and lobbying for local and state policy changes and funding, Lori takes care of Dean, who must have Roo or other supervision when alone.

Dean still can't remember a four-year span of events. He doesn't recall birthdays or special moments that a husband and wife relive as they walk the path of life together. He throws the mail away if it doesn't look like "good mail." And he will agree to anything someone who knocks on the door tries to sell.

Lori had to post a "No Solicitors" sign on the front porch after the couple had to hire a lawyer to extricate them from a contract Dean had signed.

"I do a lot of undoing," she says, laughing. Despite her ever-present smile and positive attitude, Lori admits that there are days that seem harder than others. She lets down her guard only if Dean is out for a walk with the dog or doing his volunteer work. Three times a week, he volunteers at the front desk of the Berea Recreation Center.

"Sometimes I cry in my pillow after Dean leaves," she says. "This isn't what I signed on for."

Their wedding anniversary is June 24. They have been married 21 years.

Rena A. Koontz is a reporter in the Plain Dealer's Medina bureau. She may be reached at 1-800-683-7348 or through magmail@plaind.com.


© 2004 The Plain Dealer.

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Brain Injury Association of Ohio to distribute mini-grants for bike helmets

The Brain Injury Association of Ohio has been awarded a grant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety - Ohio EMS Injury Prevention Program. A portion of these funds were used to award mini-grants of $200.00 each for the purchase of bicycle helmets to groups within Ohio engaged in community education programs that promote bicycle safety for children. The timeline for this funding is different this year. Interested community groups were asked to submit their applications by October 31, 2004.  Awards were selected and distributed in late November.

List of Award Recipients (word document) 

For more information please call our state office at 1-866-644 6242.

Brain injury victims work to get health care help

By Christine Simmons, The Marietta Times,  Wednesday, August 04, 2004

People who suffer a traumatic brain injury from either accident or illness often look like any other person.

They may be able to talk like anyone else, and they may look like anyone else. But those who suffer from such injuries often have attention problems, memory problems and other difficulties. For that reason, those suffering from traumatic brain injuries often never get the assistance other disabled people receive.

But an effort is under way by The Brain Injury Association of Ohio and community members to address the Ohio General Assembly to improve health care services and funding to help people with brain injuries.

There are 5.3 million Americans, including 227,000 Ohioans, living with a traumatic brain injury. Brain injuries represent the second-largest disability in the state, and they are the fastest growing injury in the nation.

One of those people working for a change is Beverly Bradley, 55, of Reno, who had several traumatic brain injuries from automobile accidents and a fall.

After a long, but remarkable recovery, she is on the Brain Injury Advisory Counsel in Columbus, which is continually searching for services that are needed by those with the disability.

"I hope to institute some change. I feel very good that I am a brain- injured person with a voice," said Bradley. "But I've been where a lot of brain-injured persons are now. You can't speak for yourself."

The association wrote a letter May 26 to the Ohio House addressing the current needs of those with the disability, and the group met July 23 with Ohio Sen. Joy Padgett, R-Coshocton, about its hopes.

The organization is asking that through some combination of legislative efforts, advocacy programs and allocation of funds for recognition that those with a brain injury deserve the same services and funding as others who are mentally disabled.

Suzanne Minnich, executive director of the association, said there is not a cabinet-level state agency and service system specifically for those with brain injuries, despite their population in the state.

"People generally don't understand how large this population is, and the second thing they don't understand is that they don't have the services to meet their injuries," said Minnich. "They're not on an equal footing. The services (the state) provides may not be appropriate or less efficient."

Minnich said the state has services and funding for those with mental health issues and mental retardation, but often those with traumatic brain injuries do not receive the same, if any, help.

The association's goals are to change the eligibility age for state services, require more pre-service training for those in education, support people with brain injuries, provide more access to state services and develop a study for those with the disability.

Cindy Auker, the association's community support network coordinator for seven counties in Ohio, including Washington County, provides a link between those with the disability and services needed. She said people with the disability in this region are upset at their health care.

"They are so frustrated. It's not just the TBI (traumatic brain injury), it's the whole Medicare system," said Auker. "Chances are they're going to get turned down at least two or three times before they are considered for disability services."

Another local example of the problem is Fern Frank's son, Todd, 38, of Marietta, who suffered a brain injury from a fall and later an assault. Afterward, Todd could not receive an income and was refused twice for Social Security. Todd's mother is grateful for the association and Auker's support.

"I'm very thankful because if it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't have known about this," said Fern Frank. "We've been trying for a year to do something for him."

Bradley also believes a separate service system is needed for those with a brain injury and believes the legislative effort will help.

"I think we need to have something that serves just the brain-injured. Everybody assumes the brain-inured are taken care of under the same umbrella as other disabilities. We need all the help we can get from the legislators."

The association hopes to have its project goals outlined for state legislators by its fall convention in October.

For more information

Cindy Auker, The Brain Injury Association of Ohio, 568-0241

http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/084202004_new03brainn.asp

The State Office periodically releases "Update Memos" with the intent to keep support groups and other concerned individuals and groups up-to-date with recent and upcoming events.

The memo for June 2004 includes information on the BIAOH Board's response to the Ohio Access Report, including Next Steps for concerned advocates to follow.  The campaign to make sure that the numbers of individuals living with the consequences of TBI and concerns specific for them are addressed, has been entitled, "Brain Injury Counts."   Other news includes TBI Act funding for 2005 advocacy, the BIAOH 2004 Conference (October 14th and 15th), staff updates, Annual Giving Campaign recap, "Walk for Thought" (a new fundraiser for the organization) and other upcoming events.

You may read the Update Memo here:   Update Memo (pdf file)
 

Read the Board's response: 

Resolution by BIAOH Board   (word document)

Resolution by BIAOH Board   (pdf document)

The board's Resolution was mailed to members of the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate on May 27, 2004.  View the list of representatives and senators on our Policy page.
 

Ohio Access is Governor Bob Taft's blueprint to improve long-term services and supports for people with disabilities. It lays out a comprehensive plan to give individuals meaningful choices, get the best value from taxpayer investments, and align systems to improve quality and outcomes.

http://www.ohioaccess.ohio.gov

Read the pdf document:  Ohio Access Report 2004

Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati - AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati - American Heart Association - American Lung Association of Ohio, S.W. Region - Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield - Anthem Foundation of Ohio - Butler County Department of Job and Family Services - Butler County Help Me Grow - Catholic Healthcare Partners - Children's Defense Fund - Churches Active in Northside - Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center - Cincinnati Public Schools Early Childhood - City of Cincinnati Health Department - Closing the Gap - Communities United for Action - Employer Health Care Alliance - Greater Cincinnati AIDS Consortium - Greater Cincinnati Foundation - Greater Cincinnati Healthcare Access Project - Greater Cincinnati Oral Health Council - Hamilton County Alcohol Drug Addiction Services Board - Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services - Hamilton County Head Start - Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati - Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati -Health Resource Center - Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center - Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati - Lincoln Heights Health Care Connection - Mental Health Association of the Cincinnati Area - Planned Parenthood Cincinnati Region - Recovery Initiative - Santa Maria Community Services / Bienestar - SC Ministry Foundation - Social Security Administration - Southwest Ohio Community Access Program (SOCAP) - Social Security Administration - Southwest Ohio Covering Kids and Families Coalition - Tri-Health - United Way of Greater Cincinnati - UC Medical Center - University Hospital - Working In Neighborhoods Senior Action Coalition - Xavier University Peace and Justice