BRIEFING: The Silent Epidemic in America – Brain Injury and Domestic Violence

Please join us for an important briefing “The Silent Epidemic in America – Brain Injury and Domestic Violence” Oct. 25 from 10-11 a.m. in the Congressional Meeting Room North in Capitol Visitor Center (CVC-268).

Over recent years, we have made remarkable progress in increasing awareness and research as well as improving prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, there is a major segment of the TBI survivor population that receives little attention: survivors who sustained their injuries as a result of domestic violence. In addition to further exploring the correlation between brain injury and domestic violence in our research, we must also work to raise awareness about the prevalence of TBI in this population and overcome specific challenges domestic violence survivors face when receiving a diagnosis and accessing necessary supports and services to aid in their recovery. Our briefing, “The Silent Epidemic in America – Brain Injury and Domestic Violence,” will explore these issues further.

The briefing will feature:

• Javier Cárdenas, M.D. (Director, Barrow Concussion and Brain Injury Center)
• Pam Hallman (Domestic Violence and TBI Survivor)
• Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D. (Chief, Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) (invited)
• Anne McDonnell (Executive Director, Brain Injury Association of Virginia)

The briefing will be moderated by Susan Connors, president and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), and hosted by he Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, co-chaired by Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), along with Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.). Please contact Amy Colberg, BIAA’s director of government affairs, for more information.