March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month.  For the past thirty years, worldwide health conferences, non-profits, government entities, health organizations, and many other associations highlight the need for improving brain injury awareness.  The goal of increasing public education, ending stigma, advancing brain health, and promoting valuable brain injury resources for patients, families, and caregivers will improve future outcomes.

The CDC has launched the Heads-Up campaign with a free online certification course for coaches who lead youth and high school sports teams. The program also aims to educate parents on learning to recognize the signs of head injury along with helpful recovery tips, resources, and a prevention plan. The Heads-Up campaign supplies free online training to healthcare providers and concussion information for school nurses, teachers, and other school professionals. The online resource center offers useful tools from phone apps, customizable materials, graphics, infographics, educational podcasts, videos, and more.

From a worldwide stage, functional medicine continues to gain ground on brain injury and health. The brainhealthonlinesummit.com is an annual online brain health conference featuring some of the “most renowned specialists in the brain health community.” Integrative and functional medicine professionals come together to deliver information about brain injury treatment options and alternative therapies making advancements to date. The online seminar posts several educational videos for “brain injury survivors, caregivers, families, friends, healthcare providers, or anyone interested in improving their brain health.”

Every year over 144,000 Texans sustain a traumatic brain injury affecting 1 in 300 families. Varying national statistics may cloud the full perspective of the almost epidemic levels of brain injuries in the United States each year. In 2014, the annual CDC statistics of 2.87 million brain injuries occurring nationwide, is staggering. According to Texas Health and Human Services, over 381,000 Texans live with a disability due to traumatic brain injury.

Since 2011 the executive team from Hope After Brain Injury travels the country advocating for the recovery of brain injury survivors. This year, one of many events includes Dr. Deana Adams PhD and TBI survivor Patti Foster coordinating with UT Southwestern Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Dallas, Texas, to provide a free interactive seminar, Mission Possible: Emotional Wellness After TBI. Many health professionals, including doctors, therapists, psychologist, counselors, brain injury survivors, and their families, will be available to answer questions and provide valuable information. In support of Brain Injury Awareness month, if you are located in the state of Texas, we hope to see you there!