Southaven -- Tuesday, March 11, as the RiverKings face off against the Oklahoma City Blazers, at 7:05pm in the DeSoto Civic Center, they will highlight Brain Injury Awareness month. The RiverKings will partner with the Traumatic Brain Injury program and Memphis Area Brain Injury Support Group to feature their cause at that evenings' RiverKings game. March, designated as Brain Injury Awareness Month, is a critical time when the Brain Injury Association of America and its partners strive to build public awareness and education by producing and distributing important education and prevention tools.
"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with the Mississippi RiverKings and commend the organization for their willingness to help get the word out to ensure actions are taken throughout the year that may help prevent concussions," Carolyn Chambers, TBI Service Coordinator at The MED said.
Currently, there are a least 5.3 million Americans living with a disability because of a brain injury and the estimated lifetime costs of brain injury (medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity) totaled $60 billion in 2000. Every 23 seconds a traumatic brain injury occurs and in one year, an average of 1.4 million Americans will sustain a brain injury.
Brain Injury Awareness Month focuses on raising public awareness of the "Silent Epidemic" of brain injury hoping to in turn decrease the alarming number of injuries sustained every year, increase the number of individuals practicing preventive behaviors while at work or play, and change the public's attitude toward individuals with brain injury.
The Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center at The Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The MED) received a "level one" trauma center designation (the highest possible level) in 1985 and treats trauma patients in a six-state area, many with traumatic brain injuries.
The MED has received a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health Traumatic Brain Injury Program to provide services to individuals with brain injuries and their families in the Memphis Mid-South area.
Tuesday night at the RiverKings game members of the Memphis Area Brain Injury Support Group will be on hand to distribute information about preventing concussion, while also giving away some "brain" helmets to fans.
"Concussions can occur in any sport," Chambers mentions. "Recognition and proper management when they first occur can help prevent further injury or even death. Making sure athletes wear the right protective equipment for their activity, that the equipment fits properly, is well maintained, and worn correctly and consistently can, and does, prevent brain injuries."
Referrals to Traumatic Brain Injury Services, a free service, can be made by a coach, teacher, healthcare professional, by a family member or the person who sustained a brain injury. The TBI Service Coordinator will evaluate the current needs and resources of each person with a brain injury, develop a comprehensive plan of care, assist the person with a brain injury and/or the family in identifying the resources available to them, and facilitate the recovery and rehabilitation process by building natural support systems.
The Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinator can be reached at 901.545.8487 or by email at cchambers@the-med.org.
For more information on the RiverKings and their featured nonprofit nights, highlighting causes affected the Mid-South, visit www.riverkings.com.
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