Rep. Kazarian resolution naming ‘Brain Injury Awareness Week’ passes House

State House – Rep. Katherine S. Kazarian’s (D-Dist. 63, East Providence) resolution (2019-H 5845) that names the week of March 11 through March 17 “Brain Injury Awareness Week” passed the House of Representatives last night.
“Brain injuries are devastating events to too many Rhode Islanders and their families, and often, these injuries are preventable. The social, financial, and health costs of these injuries affects every resident of Rhode Island and this is why we need to bring awareness to these issues in hopes of preventing similar tragedies in the future,” said Representative Kazarian.

Representative Kazarian was joined in the House chamber by members of the Brain Injury Association of Rhode Island to witness the passage of the resolution.

The resolution states that more than 12,000 Rhode Islanders will sustain a traumatic brain injury this year and brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults in the country.

The resolution also describes how often most forms of insurance, public and private, may not cover the rehabilitative and long-term care needs of individuals with brain injuries and that people with brain injuries, and their families, must choose between financial hardship or discontinuing critical treatment and services, leading to the inappropriate institutionalization of people with brain injuries at greater costs to the taxpayer.

In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center, the Brain Injury Association of America and Rhode Island, the resolution strives to increase brain injury awareness, hopefully making prevention and safety measures part of American culture in an effort to decrease brain injuries in Rhode Island.