CBIS Spotlight: Rebecca Wagner

Rebecca Wagner, Ph.D. is a clinical neuropsychologist who evaluates and treats individuals with traumatic brain injury, stroke, and other neurological conditions. She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with a sub-specialty in neuropsychology, from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, an APA-accredited Ph.D. program, in 2001. She completed her predoctoral internship at the VA Medical Center in Northport, New York, where she treated veterans with a variety of neurological, psychiatric, and medical disorders. She has specialized in neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation of people with brain injury since completing her internship and postdoctoral fellowship in 2004. She has worked for Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital – Outpatient TBI, a part of the Prisma Health system, since March 2010. She is involved in healthcare advocacy, both directly and indirectly, through her participation in several advocacy-based organizations. She is a legislative volunteer and Executive Council member for AARP South Carolina, an organization that advocates for protecting healthcare access and other rights of seniors as well as individuals with disabling medical conditions.

Why have you chosen a career in brain injury? What are you most passionate about in the field?

When I was in my twenties, I was working as a retail sales manager. Around that time my father was diagnosed with brain cancer. Back then treatment was far less advanced, and prospects for survival much slimmer. My father went through radiation therapy but he was not a candidate for surgery due to the location of the tumor. As his cancer progressed, my father became not only physically frail, but cognitively compromised and severely depressed. My father succumbed to his brain cancer at the young age of 57. This experience contributed to a strong interest to better understand brain injury and its impact on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning, and to pursue a career path in which I could contribute to helping individuals with brain injury.

What I am most passionate about in my field, and what I find most rewarding, is witnessing my patients regain their cognitive and physical abilities and their self-confidence and quality of life, despite often having to overcome obstacles to do so. I feel privileged to play a role in facilitating their recovery.

How has your organization made advocacy a priority? How has this emphasis ensured quality patient care?

In our organization, each staff member is required to develop an annual advocacy goal of their choosing. Individual goals range from less formal goals such as volunteering for brain injury fund raising events to referring patients for self-advocacy training through the Brain Injury Association of South Carolina (BIASC) to more formal involvement such as speaking with local legislators about the importance of supporting various healthcare initiatives that impact individuals with brain injury or taking leadership roles with advocacy organizations.

Over the years, I have been involved in advocacy with brain injury survivors and caregivers in many different ways including helping patients use their voices to advocate for themselves, and my own interests in legislative advocacy.

One patient-centered project I initiated focused on helping patients in our outpatient rehabilitation program to write about their own personal experience with brain injury, how their lives were impacted by the injury, and the importance of access to rehabilitation services in their recovery. Participants, using their stories as a template, then wrote letters to their local lawmakers in order to share their needs and concerns. Another event involved accompanying patients to speak in person about their concerns with a local legislative candidate.

As a healthcare provider interested in advocating on behalf of patients with brain injury and other disabling conditions, I participate actively in formal advocacy organizations, such as in my role as a legislative volunteer and Executive Council member for AARP South Carolina. My advocacy efforts include meeting with state, local, and federal policy makers about health-related initiatives such as affordable healthcare, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and protecting insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

Volunteer participation in activities to raise money for brain injury such as the Run & Roll 5K and the annual Heart Walk are fun ways to advocate, connect with the brain community, and have fun!

Can you reflect on the importance of self-advocacy skills for those living with brain injury?

 I think that the most important advocacy role that I play as a healthcare provider is empowering patients to advocate for their own healthcare needs by helping them develop the skills and self-confidence to do so. Self-advocacy empowers brain injury survivors and caregivers by teaching them that they have a “voice” that matters, and that they can use their voice to advocate for themselves and others affected by brain injury. This can be a significant step toward adjustment and self-confidence.

While advocacy efforts of healthcare providers on behalf of their patients is important, hearing from the brain injury survivor or caregiver directly can have a much greater impact on decisions that are made regarding healthcare-related policies. Whether a patient is calling their insurance company to appeal a denied claim for rehabilitation services, or writing to their state senator or representative about supporting a healthcare-related bill, or sharing their brain injury story on an advocacy website, hearing directly from the survivor about how a healthcare decision affects them personally is very powerful and can make a difference in whether a health insurance claim is approved or a healthcare bill passes.

Why is having a CBIS important to you and how has it benefited your work as a neuropsychologist?

Having been through the certification process to become a certified brain injury specialist through ACBIS has given me the confidence that I am able to provide current, evidence-based treatment to the patients I work with in my practice. It has benefited my work as a neuropsychologist in that my patients are assured that they are receiving care from a professional who understands brain injury and has the tools to provide appropriate assessment and treatment to this specialized population. Knowing that many of my colleagues who are part of our interdisciplinary treatment team have also earned their ACBIS certifications gives me pride in knowing that I am part of a highly qualified rehabilitation team.