The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania has received a grant from the Division of Child and Adult Health Services of the Pennsylvania Department of Health to provide education and training about brain injury to medical personnel and social service agencies. The grant continues until March 31, 2009. This grant provides the Association a way to improve the knowledge and understanding of professional groups that interact regularly with people with brain injury.  Training can last from one to four hours depending on the time availability of the group being trained. Training materials have already been developed for a variety of groups. These groups are:

• Police officers 
• Emergency medical services staff 
• School nurses 
• Human services staff including drug and alcohol counselors, mental health  therapists, case mangers, domestic violence workers,  crisis teams, and vocational counselors
  

Later, training will be developed for emergency room staff including nurses, doctors and support personnel.

The Association needs your help to carry out this important activity. You can help in two ways. First, if you know of an organization that fits within the groups listed above, please let us know so that we may contact them. Second, you can volunteer to be part of the team to go and speak. We need volunteers to talk about their experiences, both positive and not, interacting with representatives of the groups listed above. Trainings will be conducted throughout the state.

Another component of the grant is to develop web-based training. It is hoped that with this training the Association will be able to reach many professionals throughout the state. Check the website periodically for updates on the web-based training and a listing of trainings we’ve conducted.

For more information about training activities or to volunteer your expertise, please contact
Monica Vacaro, Program Manager.
vaccaro@biapa.org