Federal grant offers Connecticut brain injury victims relief

As New Haven, Connecticut residents likely know, injuries suffered in an accident are always a cause for concern. Depending on the nature of the accident, some injuries may take a long time to heal, and in some cases the injuries can result in a permanent disability. If an accident victim suffers some kind of a blow to the head, there is danger of brain trauma that can negatively affect many of the victim’s abilities, including the ability to talk or even move. Regardless of their nature, brain injuries can be difficult to diagnose and expensive to treat, putting a lot of people in a very precarious position.

Luckily for those impaired as a result of a brain injury, the federal government has stepped in to address the issue of adequate medical care for such a person in need. Consequently, in 2002, the Connecticut Department of Social Services became part of the Federal Traumatic Brain Injury State Grant Program. The program, which also included an Implementation Grant awarded in 2005, was given funds to develop necessary programs to facilitate servicing patients suffering from a traumatic brain injury.

The grant program was meant to ensure that groups that were previously receiving little medical assistance could access proper facilities. The department could also use grant money to spread knowledge about TBIs across states as a means of making people aware of the significance of such injuries. Besides helping make providers of medical care more effective, the program was designed to help set up an Advisory Committee.

Such federal programs go a long way in recognizing that anyone can suffer a life-changing accident. A fully functional human being may instantly become completely paralyzed as a result of a blow to the head. It is crucial to make sure that medical assistance is immediately available, and that the injured person is put in the care of someone capable of recognizing symptoms of brain injury at the earliest possible time. Being able to address and treat a brain injury victim at the earliest possible moment is of the utmost importance.

Source: CT.gov, “Connecticut Traumatic Brain Injury Implementation Project,” Accessed on Aug. 3, 2014