Brain Injury Resources in Kane

Brain Injury Resources in Kane County

In choosing to focus on brain injury, it is our desire that the general public's awareness of the serious of such injuries will be raised, as will the knowledge and understanding that symptoms might not be immediately visible. As early care for brain injuries is not only most effective but often the only way of forestalling permanent damage or death, this awareness is extremely important (NIH 2010). Every year, nearly one-and-a-half million people suffer traumatic brain injuries through falls, automobile accidents, and through other causes, and fifty thousand of these individuals die (BIAA 2010). The vast majority of those who suffer a fall or other accident that results in a brain injury are treated in emergency rooms or urgent care facilities only, then released with possible outpatient check-ups (BIAA 2010). By investigating available educational and support resources on the subject, a clearer image of the state of brain injury awareness emerged.

The lack of true attention and care to this issue in much of the country is evidenced by the relative dearth of dedicated supported groups and other resources in Kane County, Illinois, where the only group meets weekly in Elk Grove Village (BIAI 2010). This is a fair distance from the main population center of Elgin, and is not an especially well-publicized gathering. It is, however, the only meeting publicized within Kane County at all; though all local hospitals and emergency rooms are equipped to deal with brain injuries, there is not a specific medical or support program or clinic within the county that is at all publicized as specializing in the treatment of brain injuries (BIAI 2010). Funding for hospitals is both private (i.e. profit driven) and public (government and charity).

There is a statewide support line for Illinois veterans that have suffered traumatic brain injuries, and these men and women often make up a large percentage of a community's injured (IDHS 2010). This resource, however, is also difficult to find for the general public, and is not open to anyone who has not served in the military in some capacity. As of now, there do not appear to be any plans to create a similar system of support and resources for non-veterans in the state (IDHS 2010). Additional resources that would definitely be of benefit to the residents of Illinois as a whole and of Kane County and Elgin specifically would be the creation of a similar hotline, and if possible for support groups -- hosted in hospitals, if necessary -- to be a more widespread and common feature throughout Illinois, and especially in population centers such as Elgin and the rest of Kane County.

The internet search for materials and resources, including both professional and more general or even outright commercial sites, provided a very surprising picture of both awareness of brain injury issues and the availability of support systems and other resources. One primary organization, the Brian Injury Association of America, has web resources that include general information on brain injuries, including causes and symptoms as well as national prevalence (BIAA 2010). The Brain Injury association also has state chapters, and the Association of Illinois' website contains some links to services and support groups, but the number listed is surprisingly small (BIAI 2010). Far more abundant in numerous different internet searches, each purposed to be more fine-tuned and selective than the last, websites for attorney's offices specializing in brain injury lawsuits.

These websites range from direct and clearly identified business websites to "blogs" that review the medical aspect of brain injuries only in a very general way, and are more explicitly devoted to the urging of legal action being taken in the case of wrongdoing. The Illinois State Board of Education also has a page on its website dedicated to a discussion of special education measures, which includes a brief explanation of brain injuries and how individuals with ongoing problems related to brain injuries are handled in the educational system, but even this discussion is approached more from a legal standpoint rather than a directly practical explanation of support services (ISBE 2010). In short, there are few internet resources -- or indeed direct and explicit resources of any kind -- that deal with the issue of brain injuries in the state of Illinois.