Brain Injury Association of Mississippi

Volume 9, No. 1                                                 Fall 2005

Dinner Dance Rescheduled for

April 2006

The Brain Injury Association of Mississippi has rescheduled the Annual Dinner Dance from October 2005 to April 2006, due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The Association, Board Members and staff thought it would be in everyone’s best interest to postpone our annual event. Several of our Board Members were from the Gulf Coast and their homes were destroyed. Most of the members of our association lived at the Gulf Coast and we have no idea where to look for these people or even how to get in touch with them because of the damage that occurred. We hope the destruction on the Coast is close to being cleaned up by that time.

The board members and staff would like to send their deepest sympathy to those who lost loved ones during this terrible time.

If you have been displaced and would like to send us your new mailing address please send your information to:

The Brain Injury Association of Mississippi

P.O. Box 55912

Jackson, MS 39296

601-981-1021

800-641-6442

Brain Injury Assoc. of MS

2003-2004 Board of Directors

Chairman - Howard T. Katz, M.D.

Vice President - Wayne E. Ferrell, Esq.

Treasurer - Robert Sevier, Ph.D.

Secretary - Rich Lieding, MSSH

Mr. Gerald Cotton

VictorG Dostrow, M.D.

Dominic P. Esposito, M.D.

Nat Fentress, MS, CRC

Mrs. Tern Galloway

Ms. Janie Jones

Ms. Toni Kersh

Ms. Peggy Maddox

Edward L. Manning, Ph.D.

Mrs. Mary Lou Matthews

Mr. Harry Middlebrook

Mrs. Jan Nash

Katherine Nordal, Ph.D.

Richard Schwartz, Esq.

Henry H. Stonnington, M.D.

Daniel Vujriovich, Ph.D.

Mrs. Sharon Woodfield

Support Group Leaders

Dan Vujnovich, Ph.D., Coor. of Support Group Services on Coast

Mrs. Jan Nash - Jackson

Mrs. Diane Taloney - Columbus

Mrs. Phyllis Gronewold - Louisville

Mrs. Tina Foley - Vicksburg

Staff

Paul N. Gospodarski, Ed.D.-Executive Director

Mrs. Freda Arender -Assoc. Executive Director

Ms. Chastity Bradshaw-Admin. Asst., Editor

Mrs. Dana Pierce -Resource Center Librarian

Gulf Coast Satellite Center

Mrs. Mary Lou Matthews - Coordinator,

228-388-8996

Mission Statement

The Mission of the Brain Injury Association of Mississippi is to enhance the quality of life for survivors of traumatic brain and Spinal cord injuries and their families, and to develop and support programs that prevent brain and spinal cord injuries.

Policy Disclaimer

The Brain Injury Association of Mississippi does not support or recommend any person, method, treatment, program, products or firms mentioned in this publication. Association News is pub­lished quarterly by the Brain Injury Asso­ciation of Mississippi. The Editor reserves the right to edit materials for style and space. Address all contributions to BIA of MS, P.O. Box 55912, Jackson, MS 39296.  (601) 981-1021. Fax: (601) 981-1039.

Purpose of the Association

The purpose of the Brain Injury Association of Mississippi is to serve all Mississip­pians by providing support, education and resource information to survivors and their families; providing education to professionals with the intent of increasing public awareness of the special needs and concerns of brain injury and spinal cord injury survivors; maintaining an information and resource center; sponsoring and encouraging support groups statewide through pro­grams and financial assistance; sponsoring educational conferences, workshops, seminars, and training programs and developing and implementing prevention programs.

From the Desk of the Executive Director.

Paul N. Gospodarski, Ed.D. FAAMA, FAAM

As we anticipate the beginning of the Holiday Season, our thoughts are with all the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. I have had the opportunity to drive a truck of furniture and other essential items to families who have been devastated by these storms. No pictures or television stories can truly show the damage that so many individuals and families have suffered.

The Brain Injury Association of Mississippi has lost the Gulf Coast Satellite Center and all the equipment that was used to help so many families and clients. Many of the families and survivors of TBI have relocated to other states, some as far away as Texas, many mid-west states and even New York. The Association, working with FEMA and MEMA has been able to help families receive temporary housing using FEMA mobile homes.

The majority of our membership base has disappeared along with a significant portion of our donor base. Prior to the storms, the Association would log more than two to three thousand phone calls each month. Now we are lucky to have a mere one hundred calls. Many of the families who received computers for their school age children have lost all the equipment as well as all of their personal belongings.

While the current situation looks dismal, we look to the future with steadfast optimism. It will take many, many years, for the Gulf Coast to rebuild. That is also true for your Association. Yet, rebuild we will. The Association will remain steadfast in working with our families and helping them to rebuild their homes and lives. At the same time, the Association will also rebuild. We will continue to provide services to all those who need us and we will rebuild the satellite center for the Gulf Coast.

As we begin the Holiday Season, please remember all of the victims, children, families who have been truly hurt by these storms. Keep them all in your prayers. If you can support your Association, please help us as well. Every dollar we receive will be used to rebuild your Association to an even higher level then before.

Have a very safe Holiday Season.

The Ride and Roll Sports Safety &

Injury Prevention Program

The Brain Injury Association of Mississippi has once again started the Ride and Roll Program with area schools. We have several schools already sched­uled for the 2005-2006 school year. Our grant only allows the association to fit and distribute 5,000 helmets this school year. If your school has not con­tacted us to schedule the event, please do so before the funds are diminished for this grant year. Please make sure you and your children always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, skateboard, scooter or rollerblades.

Great Idea For Your Cellular Phone

This a such a great idea!

The idea is that you store the word “I C E” in your mobile phone address book, and against it you enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted “In Case of Emergency”.

It was thought up by an ambulance man/paramedic who found that when they went to the scenes of accidents there were always mobile phones but they didn’t know who to call. He thought it would be a good idea if there were a nationally recognized name to file “next of kin” under. Following the disaster in London, East Anglian Ambulance Service have launched a national “In Case of Emergency (ICE)” campaign with the support of Falkland’s war hero Simon Weston.

In an emergency situation, ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It’s so simple that everyone can do it. If you have more than one emergency contact name use: ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc.

Please tell all of your family and friends about this article. You never know when this will come in handy.

Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage

Key Messages

• Medicare prescription drug coverage is available to ALL people with Medicare.

• There is additional help for those who need it most.

• Coverage starts January 1, 2006.

• You must join to get coverage.

• You can join from November 15, 2005 - May 15, 2006

• If you don’t join by May 15, 2006, you may have to wait until November 15, 2006 and you may pay a 
  penalty.

• Medicare prescription drug coverage pays for brand name as well as generic dugs.

•  Compare and join a Medicare prescription drug plan that meets your needs.

• You’ll get a list of plans and their costs mailed to you in the Medicare & You handbook.

Visit www.medicare.gov on the web for more information, or call 1-800-MEDICARE. 

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (1-800-948-3090) can also help.

A Brief History of Brain Injury Rehabilitation and

Cognitive Rehabilitation

Mississippians are fortunate to have access to specialized inpatient brain injury rehabilitation and outpatient cognitive rehabilitation services. Such services have only been widely available in the United States for the past 35 or so years. Previously, brain injury rehabilitation services were mainly directed to veterans who were injured in wars. The first dedicated brain injury rehabilitation services were developed to serve veterans of World War I. In Germany, the famous neurologist, Kurt Goldstein, developed a rehabilitation program to treat German veterans. Therapy focused on improving personal adjustment and preparing patients for return to work. Therapies also addressed language impairments. Much of the therapy was provided by school teachers. Dr. Goldstein’s ideas provide the basis for many of the approaches to brain injury rehabilitation used today. Similar early rehabilitation efforts were developed in this country by a psychologist, Shepherd I. Franz.

There was another upsurge in brain injury rehabilitation around the time of World War II. In England, the famous neurologist W. Ritchie Russell initiated rehabilitation services for veterans. In the Soviet Union, Alexander Luria was creating his conceptual model of how the brain reorganizes after injury. Dr. Luria’s writings remain very influential even today. In this country, speech language therapists such as Dr. Joseph Wepman took the lead in brain injury rehabilitation.

After World War II, there was a lull in the development of brain injury rehabilitation services until the early 1970’s. The first two specialized inpatient brain injury rehabilitation programs were initiated in the early 1970’s. These were at the Rancho Los Amigos Hospital near Los Angeles and at the Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital in Israel.

The forerunners of modern cognitive rehabilitation programs appeared in the late 1970’s. The first such program was developed in Israel by two psychologists, Leonard Diller and Yehuda Ben-Yishay, from New York University. Dr. Ben-Yishay started a similar program in New York City in 1978 and many consider him to be the father of modern cognitive rehabilitation programs. Similar programs soon appeared in Carbondale, Illinois and San Marcos, Texas. A particularly influential program was developed in 1980 by Dr. George Prigatano in Oklahoma City. Dr. Prigatano is the probably the second most influential figure in cognitive rehabilitation other than Dr. Ben-Yishay. Both Drs. Prigatano and Ben-Yishay believed that brain injury rehabilitation such treat the whole person. Their programs have a heavy focus on personal adjustment and developing a positive personal identity after a devastating injury. Therapy activities also focus on improving accurate self-awareness and the ability to interact effectively with others. Therapy activities that address cognitive impairments such as decreased memory or impaired problem solving generally focus on helping the client compensate for the deficit. These programs are intended to assist persons with brain injuries with returning to work and having a positive quality of life.

Brain injury rehabilitation services continue to advance based on scientific research such as the research being done by the TB! Model System of Mississippi. Nonetheless, we all owe a debt of gratitude to these early pioneers in brain injury rehabilitation.

By:  Mark Sherer, Ph.D., ABPP-Cn, Project Director TBI Model System of Mississippi

The TB! Model System of Mississippi is one of only 16 TB! Model Systems programs funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The TB! Model Systems program conducts research on recovery and rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury and disseminates information about traumatic brain injury to persons with brain injuries, family/significant others, healthcare professionals, and the community at large. The TBI Model System of Mississippi is housed at Methodist Rehabilitation Center, 1350 E. Woodrow Wilson, Jackson, MS 39216. For more information about the TB! Model System of Mississippi, call 601-364-3448.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

We now accept Visa and Mastercard

You can now make a donation or pay your membership dues by using your Visa or Master card. 601-981-1021

¨ Benefactor                                $500.00

                          ¨ Survivor

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