2007 News Articles

May 26,2007

Rebuilding lives

Wytheville Enterprise

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Brain Injury Services asks for funding help

The Coalfield Progress

Friday, March 23 , 2007

There's help for those with brain injuries

The Roanoke Times

Thursday, February 1, 2007

New service helps those with brain injuries

The Coalfield Progress

Full Articles Listed Below

Rebuilding lives - Brain injury services now offered in Wytheville

May 26, 2007 Wytheville Enterprise by Wayne Quesenberry, Staff

Brain injury occurs every 21 seconds in the United States. Common causes include automobile wrecks, falls, heart attacks, strokes, sports injuries or illness.

While there is no cure, there is help. Brain Injury Servies of Southwestern Virginia now has an office at 345 Monroe St. in Wytheville and covers the counties of Wythe, Bland, Smyth, Carroll and Grayson and the city of Galax.

"We're getting the word out that we are here," noted Pam Hall, case manager. "We're beginning to get referrals."

Headquartered in Roanoke, Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia offers survivor volunteer placement opportunities, relationship building activities, life skills training, survivor advocacy, support groups, family support, professional consultation, education and training to service providers, information and referral. It also works with individuals to identify their goals and provide them with the tools to achieve those objectives.

"It's a relearning process," Hall said. "People with brain injuries are not the person they once were. Evaluations determine what life skills a person with a brain injury can relearn such as the activities of daily living – bathing, grooming and dressing."

Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia, a non-profit organization, was established by former Enterprise owner Greg Rooker and his wife, Fran of Radford in 2000 with financial support from The Jason Foundation. The Rookers lost their 11-year-old son, Jason, from complications of a brain injury.

According to the Rookers, they experienced first hand the devastating effects of the lack of servides for brain injury survivors in Southwest Virginia. The couple's work through The Jason Foundation made them realize the need for professional coordination of services to maximize recovery opportunities.

Using a successful model established by a group of families of survivors for service providers, the Rookers developed a similar program for Roanoke and the New River Valley. In October 2005, their organization expanded into the Mt. Rogers area of far Southwest Virginia.

A year later; the organization added the LENOWISCO and Cumberland Plateau Planning Districts and Franklin County. The service area now covers 11,000 square miles and operates from offices in Abingdon, Blacksburg, Norton, Roanoke and now Wytheville.

"Fran and Greg Rooker always knew the need was there," commented Helen Butler; executive director of Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia. "A needs assessment study by the Virginia Tech Institute of Community Health showed there were enough people in Wythe County with brain injuries to expand our services there."

In January 2003, Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia added children and youth to the program. Previously, services were limited to survivors aged 16 and older.

Because of the over whelming need for services for people of all ages in the area, the organization secured a grant through the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Trust Fund to introduce the Pediatric Case Management Program. It is the second program of its kind in the state, modeled after that of Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia.

The organization is funded through various grants and donations from businesses, organizations and individuals. It also relies on fundraising activities.

Two invitational golf challenges in September benifit the organizations, too. Each team participating must include a person with a brain injury.

For further information on Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia, call 1-866-720-1008. The Wytheville office can be contacted at 227-0429.

Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 229-6611 or wquesenb@wythenews.com.

Brain Injury Services asks for funding help

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 The Coalfield Progress by Jodi Deal, Staff Writer

WISE — So far, Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia is serving six Wise County residents from its Norton satellite office, representative from the Roanoke–based organization told county supervisors Thursday.

That may not seem like a lot of people, but according to Helen butler, executive director of the regional organization, that number should rise as more people become aware of the services. The Norton office opened in late 2006 and is staffed by a single caseworker.

Injury Services of Southwest Virginia is a private, non–profit 501(c)(3) organization that gets more than 75 percent of its funding from a Virginia General Assembly appropriation.

About 10 percent more is covered through grants and fundraisers. For the other 15 percent of its operating costs, the organization turns to the counties it serves.

To be fair, Brain Injury Services bases its donation request on the estimated number of clients it will serve in each locality in the upcoming year. A suggested donation is about $417 per client per year, Butler told supervisors. In Wise County, case manager Tracie Hall will likely serve about 10 clients in the upcoming year, setting the county's suggested donation at about $4000, Butler estimated.

Supervisors Chairman Ronnie Shortt asked Butler if other counties already provide funding, and if so, which counties.

According to Butler, Roanoke, Botetourt, Smyth, Bland, Salem and Washington counties are among those that have given funds along with the cities of Roanoke, Radford and Salem. In all, about $23,000 was donated by localities last year, she noted.

Supervisors did not indicate whether they will grant the funding request at Thursday's meeting. Traditionally, funding requests from local organizations are considered during the county's budget planning process.

Brain Injury Services of Southwestern Virginia provides free assistance to survivors of brain injuries, no matter how much time has passed since the injury was sustained. Survivors and their families can receive free counseling, training, information and assistance finding funds to cover needs that are not met by insurance or Medicaid.

The organization now has about 250 clients in Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, Wythe, Washington, Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski, Roanoke, Buchanan, Dickerson, Lee, Russell, Tazewell, Scott and Wise counties. It also serves the cities of Roanoke, Salem, Bristol, Galax and Norton.

For more information about services, call 276/679-5001, or visit the organization's Web site at www.bisswva.org.

There's help for those with brain injuries

Friday, March 23 , 2007 The Roanoke Times by Mary Lynn Tucker

We all count on our brain...that internal computer. Brain gymnastics, such as crossword puzzles or Sudoku puzzles have shown positive benefits in developing brain function after mid–life, as has learning a foreign language, learning to play a musical instrument and other activities. Those with brain injuries may or may not have those options. They do have help, however. March has been declared National Brain Injury Awareness Month. A person may experience either a traumatic brain injury from a car accident or other external trauma, or have a brain injury from a stroke, meningitis or other internal issues. Brain injury statistics are alarming, as these statistics from the National Center for Disease Control show:

• Approximately 1 million head–injured persons are treated annually in emergency rooms in the United States.
• An estimated 270,000 people have experienced a moderate or severe brain injury.
• Of the estimated 230,000 individuals who are hospitalized for brain injury, at least a third live with significant disabilities as a result of the injury.
• An estimated 5.3 million Americans (2 percent of the population) have long–term needs to perform activities of daily life, due to brain injury.

Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia is a state–funded nonprofit organization that can offer help.

Connie Vance–Kingery, a case manager for the program in Franklin County, said, "I am a patient advocate. We are here to provide patients and their families’ access to community resources, providing emotional support and help those with brain injuries with whatever life skills they need help with. We help with everything from bookkeeping, to recreational activities, like bowling and golf for patients.

"I met with a legislative team on Tuesday (March 12) to gather information on a statewide level and to discuss the biggest problems in this area, which is housing for people with brain injuries. Many of the local facilities do not accept Medicare, and that is a serious problem."

Vance–Kingery said she meets individually with the patient and family to help them determine their goals. She then proceeds to help them meet those goals.

Patients may be referred to this service through their physician or physical therapist, or may be self–refer with proper medical records.

Vance–Kingery said while she and her staff are working from their office at 302 Second St. in Roanoke, the program recently has received funding to expand their services into Franklin County.

A community informational meeting about the program will be held at Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

New service helps those with brain injuries

Thursday February 1, 2007 The Coalfield Progress by Jodi Deel, Staff Writer

NORTON - Survivors of strokes, heart attacks, accidents or other major events that cause brain damage are forced to deal with a new reality as soon as they wake up.

Most of the immediate health reisks are dealt with during hospital stays, and the processes of learning to talk, walk and perform other physical tasks are often covered during rehabilitation.

But once survivors are able to return to home, the magnitude of the lifestyle changes really start sinking in for survivors and their family members, says Tracie Hall, a case manager with Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia.

That's wnere her organization steps in.

People with brain injuries and their families often have many needs that remain after medical care and rehabilitation end. Self-care, mobility, transportation, finances, independent living, communication, finding work, going to school, having fun or just coping with emotional stress.

Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia just opened a satellite office in the former Hotel Norton, to serve the city of Norton and Wise, Lee, Scott, Dickerson and Russell counties.

It is a Roanoke-based organization that specializes in helping with every possible problem a brain injury survivor or their caregivers could encounter.

Case managers like Hall have a wide variety of resources at their fingertips that many brain injury survivors and their families might not otherwise even hear about. From financial help to life skills lessons to a friendly ear, Hall and others in the organization do all they can to help.

And the best part is that most of their services are free. Care management services are offered absolutely free of charge for anyone who's suffered a brain injury.

Helen Butler, executive director of the organization, said in a Tuesday telephone interview that all too often, case managers are referred to people with brain injuries who are completely alone and isolated.

"It happens because they're not the same person they were before," Butler said. "Their friends and family leave them because they have behavioral issues and personality changes. Typically, the people we find are lost. We'd like to catch them before that happens."

HELPING PEOPLE COPE

Almost none of Hall's case mangagement activities take place in her small office. It's really only there for telephone calls and administrative duties.

Hall's real work occurs in the home of a brain injury survivor, or somewhere in the community that a survivor and their family feel comfortable.

The first order of duty when a case manager like Hall gets a new client is a detailed assesment. Though interviews and medial couments, case mangers evaluate all of a survivors abilities, needs and wants, Butler explained.

"Folks with brain injuries have goals just like anyone else," Butler said. "They want to do the most they can with what they have. But they have stumbling blocks and challenges."

Survivors of more minor brain injuries might have very specific problems with everyday organizational skills. Brain Injury Services can help them find ways to organize schedules so that they make all doctor's appointments, job interviews and other commitments.

"We help them break down challenges into small steps, so they can achieve goals," Butler explained. Some brain injuries are so servere that the survivors need full-time care, which takes a major toll on family members, Butler added. For those families, Brain Injury Services can help find experienced caregivers to watch the survivor so that family members can spend quality time together, while still keeping their loved one at home. Survivors often need special equipment, ranging from hospital beds to wheelchairs to computers, but can't afford them. Insurance won't cover everything, and some survivors might not have insurance at all.

If a survivor is confined to a wheelchair, his or her house might need new ramps and other features to make life more comfortable.

Brain Injury Services can nelp people find funding to pay for devices they need.

If they can't find funding, the organization can sometimes buy equipment for clients, Butler said.

Case workers like Hall can work hands-on with educators, providing in-service education sessions or having meetings to make sure all of a brain injured student's needs are met, Hall explained.

The organization can also help survivors get the documentation they need to navigate Social Security and Medicaid to get the financial assistance they need, Butler noted.

For more information, call Hall at 276/679-5001, or visit the organization's website at www.bisswva.org.

Who Qualifies for help?

Brain Injury Services specializes in helping people who have "acquired" brain injuries. That means that to receive case management services, a person much have documentation that their brain injury was aquired after birth, not as a result of a birth defect or degenerative disorder.

It doesn't matter how long ago the injury occured, Hall noted, just as long as it can be documented.

Causes of brain injuries include falls, automobile accidents, strokes, aneurysms, shaken baby syndrome, near drowning, accidental hanging, surgury complications, sports injuries, violence, heart attacks, gunshot wounds, meningities and a wide variety of other disorders and traumas.

Clients can be referred to the organization by healthcare providers, teachers family members, friends or other care providers. But people who have sustained brain injuries can also call and ask for help themselves.

For more information, call Hall at 276/679-5001, or visit the organization's website at www.bisswva.org.

Organization is non-profit

Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 organization that specializes in assisting people with brain injuries.

It was founded in November 2000 by Fran and Greg Rooker, Roanoke residents whose son suffered a major brain injury in 1996.

The organization serves clients from just a few months old to 80 years of age, but the average age of their clients is about 37, according to executive director Helen Butler.

The Rookers founded the organization because they learned the hard way that few resources existed to help them find the respite care providers or other assistance.

Initially, the organization was funded by donations, but in Novermber 2004, the Virginia General Assembly appropriated funds that now make up about 75 percent of the Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia budget, Butler noted.

The organization now has about 210 clients in Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, Wythe, Washington, Allegheny, Botetout, Craig, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski, Roanoke, Buchanan, Dickerson, Lee, Russell, Tazewell, Scott and Wise counties. It also serves the cities of Roanoke, Salem, Bristol, Galax and Norton.

Norton Brain Injury Services case worker Tracie Hall noted during a recent interview that an estimated 16,000 individuals with brain injuries live in Southwest Virginia. According to the 2000 census, about 800 survivors live in Wise County alone.

Hall only has about five clients so far, but hopes to serve 25-30 brain injury survivors by the summer.