Posted: | February 8, 2016 02:43 PM |
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From: | Representative Thomas P. Murt |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | March 2016 as Brain Injury Awareness Month |
I am introducing a resolution to increase the awareness of and to support and assist Pennsylvanians suffering from brain injuries. An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is any brain injury that occurs after birth. ABIs are thought of according to their cause as either traumatic or non-traumatic. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) occurs when the brain is injured by any traumatic action, such as an auto accident, fall, striking by or against any object, or an assault. Non-traumatic Brain Injuries often occur from events such as cerebral vascular accidents (CVA), anoxia, ingestion of toxic substances, brain tumors, etc. In studying emergency department visits, hospitalization and death data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that at least 1.4 million TBIs occur in the United States each year. Of these, 50,000 result in death, 235,000 require hospitalization, and over 1,000,000 have emergency room visits. There are countless more who receive other medical care, or no care. A brain injury can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone – a brain injury does not discriminate. It is my hope that this resolution calls attention to these injuries and assists in advancing brain injury prevention, research, treatment and education and improves the quality of life for all people affected by brain injury. |
Introduced as HR703