PRINTER'S NO. 566
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
54
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, DINNIMAN, YAW, EICHELBERGER, BROWNE,
KILLION, LANGERHOLC, VULAKOVICH, MENSCH, RAFFERTY,
RESCHENTHALER, FOLMER AND YUDICHAK, MARCH 22, 2017
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MARCH 22, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of March 2017 as "Brain Injury Awareness
Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Brain injury refers to the death or injury of brain
cells and the disruption of neural pathways resulting in changes
in the way a person thinks, feels and acts; and
WHEREAS, Acquired brain injury (ABI) is an injury to the
brain secondary to a trauma, stroke, aneurysm, postsurgical
complication or certain acquired disease process; and
WHEREAS, It is estimated that more than 3.5 million children
and adults sustain an ABI each year; and
WHEREAS, More than 12 million Americans live with an ABI,
including stroke; and
WHEREAS, Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a subset of ABI, is an
injury to the brain caused by a direct blow to the head, the
head hitting an object or the head being shaken violently; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 2.5 million children and adults
sustain TBIs in the United States each year; and
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WHEREAS, Each year, 2.2 million individuals are treated in
emergency departments for TBIs and 280,000 individuals are
hospitalized for TBIs; and
WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
provides that the estimated economic cost of TBIs in 2010,
including direct and indirect medical costs, was approximately
$76.5 billion; and
WHEREAS, The CDC shares that TBI is a major cause of death
and disability in the United States, contributing to
approximately 30% of all injury deaths; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 5.3 million Americans live with TBI-
related disabilities; and
WHEREAS, Every day, 137 individuals in the United States die
from TBI-related injuries and each year 50,000 individuals in
the United States die from TBIs; and
WHEREAS, The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania reports
the following statistics relating to brain injuries in
Pennsylvania:
(1) 245,621 individuals are living with brain injury.
(2) 2,223 individuals die from brain injuries each year.
(3) 10,463 individuals are hospitalized each year after
a brain injury.
(4) 49,505 individuals are seen in the emergency room
following a brain injury each year.
(5) 25,975 children suffer brain injuries each year.
(6) 8,612 individuals sustain long-term or lifelong
disabilities from brain injury each year;
and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth has a number of leading research
centers for brain injury, including the Penn Center for Brain
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Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania, the Moss
Rehabilitation Research Institute, the Brain Trauma Research
Center at the University of Pittsburgh and the Center for Injury
Research and Prevention at the Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Other organizations in this Commonwealth with a
strong focus on brain injury include the Brain Injury
Association of Pennsylvania, the Acquired Brain Injury Network
of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Brain Injury Coalition,
Disability Rights Pennsylvania and the Rehabilitation and
Community Providers Association; and
WHEREAS, The Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board within the
Department of Health is committed to expanding public knowledge
regarding TBI as well as increasing coordination and integration
within existing service delivery systems; and
WHEREAS, Additional programs within this Commonwealth that
administer specialized brain injury rehabilitation and community
support include the Head Injury Program and the CommCare Waiver;
and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's BrainSTEPS Program, currently funded
by the Department of Health and the Department of Education,
provides assistance to students who have sustained an ABI and
provides consultation through the students' school districts
until graduation; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of March 2017
as "Brain Injury Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania, Inc., 950 Walnut
Bottom Road, Suite 15-229, Carlisle, PA 17015; the Acquired
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Brain Injury Network of Pennsylvania, Inc., 2275 Glenview Drive,
Lansdale, PA 19446; and the Rehabilitation and Community
Providers Association, 777 East Park Drive, Suite 300,
Harrisburg, PA 17111.
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