Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

WEST ORANGE, N.J., Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --As the fall season approaches, millions of student-athletes are preparing to take to the playing fields - and with that comes an increased risk of sports-related injuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than seven million students participate in high school sports annually and millions more are active on the elementary and middle school levels as well as in recreation leagues. High school athletes alone account for an estimated two million injuries, 500,000 doctor visits, and 30,000 hospitalizations with the highest injury rate among football players, followed by wrestlers and soccer players. In addition, more than 3.5 million children ages 14 years and younger receive medical treatment for sports-related injuries. "Sprains, muscle strains, bone or growth plate injuries, fractures, and overuse or repetitive motion injuries, as well as heat-related illnesses, are the more typical injuries among children," explained Neil N. Jasey, M.D., Director of Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. "However, concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is increasingly one of the most common sports-related injuries. It is also one of the most difficult to diagnose - and one of the most serious because of the long-term … Continue reading →

Aug. 15, 2012, midnight INSPIRING: Inverell farmer Dugald Storie is back to enjoying life with wife Anna and kids Emma, George and Angus after a remarkable recovery from a serious brain injury. Photo: Robert Chappel 150812RCA007 SEVENTEEN months ago, Dugald Stories life hung in the balance when he had a serious accident on his property near Inverell. But after months of rehabilitation and hard work, Mr Storie is now back to 100 per cent. His story of recovery has been highlighted as part of Brain Injury Awareness Week and has seen him join the Wall of Fame at Tamworth hospitals transitional living unit, Kameruka, this year. To have his story selected for the Wall of Fame was something Mr Storie hoped would inspire others as they faced similar challenges. When I was doing my treatment in Tamworth Id read some of those stories, and gosh, some of those guys were so brave and so strong ... so to be asked to do this, I feel deeply honoured, he said. In March last year, Mr Storie was working on his property with a friend when he was hit in the head by a piece of steel from a grain bin while … Continue reading →

by Ken Alltucker - Aug. 12, 2012 09:08 PM The Republic | azcentral.com The federal agency that handles veterans benefits in Phoenix bungled nearly half the temporary-disability, traumatic-brain-injury and herbicide-exposure claims that were examined during a recent audit. The Veterans Benefits Administration office in Phoenix mishandled 47 percent of the claims in those three areas, according to a limited audit by the agency's inspector general issued last month. The mishandled claims frustrate veterans who must wait an average of nearly one year before the Phoenix office decides whether they are eligible for compensation. The Phoenix office has a backlog of more than 22,700 claims, with an average wait of 360 days before the cases are decided. Veterans organizations say the report illustrates the challenges that both returning soldiers and veterans face when attempting to secure a timely and accurate decision on benefits for disabilities. "This is something we have been struggling with for a very long time," said Tom Tarantino, chief policy officer at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "The disability evaluation system was obsolete even before the Iraq and Afghanistan (wars)." The inspector general audit represented just a fraction of the total cases handled by the Phoenix office, … Continue reading →

A GIRL being treated for a serious brain injury sustained while trying to shield her mother from a steel shovel wielded by a mentally ill man has made big improvements and is expected to wake up from coma soon. Yesterday was the 70th day Wang Yan remained at a local hospital. Doctors said she stopped having convulsions, which were occurring over 20 times a day, and started to respond to sound and pain, a good sign for regaining consciousness. Officials from Shanghai Charity Foundation and Shanghai East Radio Station jointly set up a special fund for Wang, who is from a poor farm family in a small village in Anhui Province. As of yesterday, local residents, companies and the hospital had collected more than 610,000 yuan (US$ 96,825) to help cover her medical bills after Wang's story was spread by the media. "We want to help the little girl, whose bravery and love for her mother deeply move everyone," said Zhang Minquan from East Radio Station. Doctors said they are confident about Wang waking up. "I can't say exactly when she will wake up, but I am very glad about her improvement so far," said Dr Pan Renlong, Wang's chief … Continue reading →

By Tahira Yaqoob PUBLISHED: 11:51 EST, 9 August 2012 | UPDATED: 07:26 EST, 10 August 2012 Since the accident Natalie Creane has been drifting in and out of coma in intensive care A British newlywed left with a life-threatening brain injury after a TV panel fell on her head in a five-star hotel needs round-the-clock care, her family told a court today. Natalie Creane, 33, cannot be left alone after the incident in the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi left her suffering epileptic seizures and a traumatic brain injury, her husband Trevor said. He was summoned by a judge to give evidence in Abu Dhabi Higher Civil Claims Court as part of her 3.5million compensation claim against the hotel, which has denied responsibility and disputed her version of events. But according to court records, the hotel used pictures of her wedding from her Facebook page to disprove her claims. It stated: 'We have presented evidence showing she has continued with her lifestyle as normal.' The statement added the claim was 'a figment of the claimant's imagination' and said it has supplied photos of the wardrobe and the panel that was said to have fallen, adding as it weighed 2.2kg, … Continue reading →

Thousands of Australians will get concussed playing sport this weekend and it will go mostly undiagnosed, untreated and unreported, the head of Brain Injury Australia, Nick Rushworth, says. He said 3000 people a year were taken to hospital after being concussed playing sport. But this was the tip of the iceberg. "Up to triple that number won't seek medical attention and as many as 10 times that number won't even report their concussion to teammates, coaches or family because they fear being removed from play," Mr Rushworth said. Even among those who went to hospital because they "felt funny" or were suffering persistent headaches, most would not necessarily tie the problems to a head injury on the playing field. Mr Rushworth, who has prepared a policy paper for the federal government on concussion in rugby league, rugby union and Australian football, said figures for concussions that did not result in hospitalisation were inexact and based on US data. But the problem was large, ignorance widespread, and the risks serious, he said. "Returning to sport before the brain has recovered puts the player at risk of long-term brain damage," he said. However, the policy of a three-week exclusion period for concussed … Continue reading →

By Tahira Yaqoob PUBLISHED: 11:51 EST, 9 August 2012 | UPDATED: 13:29 EST, 9 August 2012 Since the accident Natalie Creane has been drifting in and out of coma in intensive care A British newlywed left with a life-threatening brain injury after a TV panel fell on her head in a five-star hotel needs round-the-clock care, her family told a court today. Natalie Creane, 33, cannot be left alone after the incident in the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi left her suffering epileptic seizures and a traumatic brain injury, her husband Trevor said. He was summonsed by a judge to give evidence in Abu Dhabi Higher Civil Claims Court as part of her 3.5 million compensation claim against the hotel, which has denied responsibility and disputed her version of events. But according to court records, the hotel used pictures of her wedding from her Facebook page to disprove her claims. It stated: 'We have presented evidence showing she has continued with her lifestyle as normal.' The statement added the claim was 'a figment of the claimant's imagination' and said it has supplied photos of the wardrobe and the panel that was said to have fallen, adding as it weighed … Continue reading →

8 August 2012 Last updated at 05:49 ET The brother of a Londonderry man who was left brain-damaged after he was attacked in County Donegal five years ago has criticised the health authorities. Mark McShane, 40, was left unable to recognise his own children after the attack in Letterkenny, for which two men were jailed for five years. He later had part of his brain removed. His brother John said he now lived on his own and struggled to survive everyday. "He still is pretty much brain-damaged and possibly is going to be for the rest of his life," he said. "Mark finds it pretty difficult to survive on his own. "All the care that Mark gets is provided by his family, because as far as all those outside agencies are concerned, they seem to have walked away from him. "Mark refused to go to a clinic on one or two occasions and it seems to be that no one ever contacted Mark to see if he wanted to come back. "It's a lot of strain on my mother; it's a lot of strain on all of us because every day somebody has to do something for Mark, take him … Continue reading →

SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire -08/02/12)- Rural/Metro Corporation announced today that its family of companies in Arizona -- Southwest Ambulance, PMT Ambulance, Rural/Metro Fire Department and Rural/Metro Ambulance -- have received Excellence in Prehospital Injury Care (EPIC)-Traumatic Brain Injury certification for prehospital care by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). The Company's entire emergency medical services (EMS) work force in Arizona is trained to the highest prehospital treatment protocols for victims of traumatic brain injuries in accordance with ADHS' EPIC program. Rural/Metro is the only private ambulance provider in Arizona trained to the highest state standards in multiple counties (Maricopa, Pinal, Pima and Yuma). Southwest Ambulance, PMT Ambulance, Rural/Metro Fire Department and Rural/Metro Ambulance provide emergency medical services to 84% of the state's population in Maricopa, Pima, Pinal and Yuma counties. Michael P. DiMino, President & Chief Executive Officer, said, "As a national leader in EMS, our commitment to clinical excellence in every aspect of our business drives us each day to perform to the highest standards in every community we serve. These standards are proven to contribute to positive patient outcomes and provide our receiving hospitals with every prehospital advantage possible when we bring patients into their emergency departments." Each year, … Continue reading →

By ROSEMARY GOUDREAU | Florida Voices Published: August 01, 2012 Updated: August 01, 2012 - 12:00 AM It is impossible to look at the pages-long list of abuse allegations from a Central Florida facility for people with brain injuries and not wonder how the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation is allowed to remain open. Sexual abuse. Mental abuse. Burns. Broken bones. Bruises. Cuts and punctures. Bizarre punishment. Excessive restraints. Inadequate supervision. Confinement. Exploitation. Harassment, belittlement, ridicule. Beatings. Asphyxiation. And death. Five times, death. Since 2005, state investigators have received 477 allegations of adults and children abused at FINR. In one month alone, the institute racked up 10 calls to the Florida Abuse Hotline. Not infrequently, it's gotten six, seven or eight abuse-hotline calls a month. It's hard to hear the stories from one of the nation's largest brain-treatment facilities, tucked in Wauchula, 50 miles southeast of Tampa. People like Peter Price, who swallowed five fish hooks and 22 AA batteries to facilitate his escape. Or Janet Clark, who keeps a picture of herself after she was "kicked in the eye with a boot." Or watch the video of a man who is picked off the couch by a staffer and … Continue reading →