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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 6, 2017 12:40 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf and Sen. Andrew E. Dinniman |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Brain Injury Awareness Month |
| We plan to offer a resolution designating March 2017 as “Brain Injury Awareness Month” in Pennsylvania. 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. Acquired brain injury (ABI) is an injury to the brain secondary to trauma, stroke, aneurysms, postsurgical complications or certain acquired disease processes. It is estimated that more than 3.5 million children and adults sustain an ABI each year. In addition, more than 12 million Americans live with ABI, including stroke. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a subset of ABI, is an insult to the brain caused by a direct blow to the head, the head hitting an object or the head being shaken violently. Approximately 2.5 million children and adults sustain TBIs in the United States each year. Also, each year, 2.2 million people are treated in emergency departments for TBIs, and 280,000 individuals are hospitalized for TBIs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that the estimated economic cost of TBI in 2010, including direct and indirect medical costs, was approximately $76.5 billion. 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. Approximately 5.3 million Americans live with TBI-related disabilities. In addition, 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 TBI. 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; This Commonwealth has a number of the leading research centers for brain injury, including the Penn Center for Brain 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. In addition, the state has several organizations with a strong focus on brain injury including 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. The Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board within the Department of Health is also committed to expanding public knowledge regarding TBI as well as increasing coordination and integration within existing service delivery systems. Also, the state has additional programs that administer specialized brain injury rehabilitation and community support programs, including the Head Injury Program and the CommCare Waiver program. Finally, 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. |
Introduced as SR54