BIAV News & Updates

Brain Injury Awareness Day

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:19:00 GMT

You are invited to the 9th annual Brain Injury Awareness Day Thursday, February 2nd 9:30-11:30 a.m. at the Virginia General Assembly, hosted by Delegate John O'Bannon, Senator Walter Stosch, Senator Ralph Northam, the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, and the Virgina Alliance of Brain Injury Service Providers.

Please make plans to join us as we visit legislators to voice the needs of people with brain injury. Activities are being lined up and will include a breakfast for legislators and their staff as well as a mini-anatomy lesson of the brain by Dr Paul Aravich.

If you are planning to come and visit a legislator, it is strongly suggested you call to make an appointment. If you are unsure as to how to do this, call BIAV at 355-5748 or 800-444-6443, and we'll walk you through it.

On the day of the event, materials will be provided for attendees and legislators, and BIAV staff and members of the Virginia Alliance of Brain Injury Service Providers will be on-hand to assist with the visits.

BIAV has also created talking points to provide to legislators and for advocates to use throughout the session. To view the talking points, visit our Policy and Information page.

To find out who your legislator is, visit the General Assembly site at http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform.

For directions to the General Assembly Building, click here; for parking locations in downtown Richmond, click here.

Executive Director, BIAV Receive National Awards

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:50:00 GMT

The Brain Injury Association of Virginia is excited to announce that Anne McDonnell, Executive Director, has been presented with the 2011 State Association Leadership Award by the Brain Injury Association of America. The award is given to Association executives who foster collaboration through creative and innovative thinking, teamwork, and servant leadership.

The Brain Injury Association of Virginia was also presented with the 2011 Award of Excellence for Programs and Services by the Brain Injury Association of America, for excellence in design, execution, and evaluation of their innovative and wide-reaching education programs.

Brain Injury in the News

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:58:00 GMT

Brain injury is receiving a lot of press lately. Check out our Facebook page for links to several recent articles.

Research Project Provides Opportunity for Family Retreat

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:20:00 GMT

BIAV is partnering in a collaborative research project between the VCU Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the VCU School of Social Work.

This program will bring several families together to participate in a “Multi-family Group” for a weekend of activities. While there, they will have the opportunity to participate in some groups with other parents as well as lots of fun and interactive activities with their children and with other families. The weekend is a time to relax, reflect and learn about traumatic brain injury (TBI). They will be meeting with therapists who are knowledgeable about TBI and its effects on families. The retreats are offered in a beautiful setting just outside of the city of Richmond and will require a weekend (Saturday and Sunday) stay. The first retreat will be November 5-6, 2011; the second will be sometime in February 2012. Since this is a research project, families will be asked to complete questionnaires about their family and later participate in a focus group. Families may earn up to $100 to compensate them for their time and travel expenses.

Families eligible to participate are those in which one of the parents has a brain injury and there are children in the home between the ages of 6 and 18. The parents do not have to be married, but should be living together as a family unit.

For more information or to register, call Dr. Emilie Godwin at VCU at 804-828-3701. You can also call Christine Baggini at BIAV with questions at 804-355-5748.

Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:08:00 GMT

The Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) is the lead state agency for persons with brain injury. The Community Based Services Division includes the Brain Injury Services Coordination Unit. For information on the services they provide click here.

In partnership with people with disabilities and their families, DRS collaborates with the public and private sectors to provide and advocate for the highest quality services that empower individuals with disabilities to maximize their employment, independence and full inclusion into society. For more information, visit the DRS website at www.drs.virginia.gov.