Initiatives
Traumatic Brain Injury
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Despite the fact that the incidence rate of
identified Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI’s) in Alaska
is 28% higher than the national rate, little has been done to address
and treat the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral manifestations
of a traumatic brain injury in the affected population. The Division
of Behavioral Health is currently working to remedy this through the
development of an infrastructure system that provides for the culturally
competent treatment and rehabilitation services specific to TBI survivors
who experience cognitive, emotional, and behavioral manifestations
as a result of head trauma.
The mission of the Division of Behavioral Health’s
Traumatic Brain Injury Project is to develop and maintain
an infrastructure that provides a service delivery system capable
of meeting the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral treatment needs
of TBI survivors throughout the state of Alaska.
To meet this mission (8) primary goals have been established to address TBI throughout the state of Alaska:
1. Expand and improve state-level and community-based capacity for providing access to comprehensive, high quality, culturally competent and coordinated services for individuals with TBI and their families statewide.
2. Enhance community-based capacity for identifying adults and children with TBI.
3. Use existing research-based knowledge, state-of-the-art systems development approaches, and best practices to enhance community-based skills and competence in identifying adults and children with TBI and providing TBI screening, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation services.
4. Establish on-going capacity to sustain the incorporation of culturally competent TBI services within Alaska’s service delivery system.
5. Determine if Alaska has sufficient need to develop in-state post-acute residential rehabilitation capacity to serve the medically stable individual with TBI, or if included with other types of brain injury.
6. Establish on-going capacity of the Alaska TBI Advisory Board, survivors, and their families to sustain their oversight of statewide planning for culturally competent TBI services/supports within Alaska’s service delivery system.
7. Continue and expand the efforts to prevent traumatic brain injury in Alaska.
8. Provide data support for the implementation of services described in the implementation grant.
Alaska’s Traumatic Brain Injury Project is currently
funded through a three-year grant from the US Department
of Health and Human Services’ Health Resource and Services Administration.