MUSC to lead nationwide initiative to combat traumatic brain injury

The following is a release from MUSC

Charleston, SC, (June 4, 2009)—Chosen among the nation’s top institutions for neurological care, MUSC will serve as the state’s lead in the Sarah Jane Brain Project (SJBP), a nationwide initiative to combat traumatic brain injury.

Started in 2007 by Patrick Donohue, SJBP was named after his daughter Sarah Jane, who was shaken by her nurse when she was 5 days old, breaking three ribs, both collarbones and causing a severe brain injury. Sarah Jane will be 4-years-old this week and still cannot walk, talk, crawl or sit up on her own. Like millions of children in the United States, Sarah Jane has a traumatic brain injury, a form of PABI.

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (PTBI) is the leading cause of death and disability for children and young adults in the United States. More than 5,000 deaths occur a year; 17,000 individuals suffer from permanent disability, and more than 1,000,000 are hospitalized due to PTBI. PABI cases include all traumatic causes plus brain injuries caused by brain tumors, strokes, meningitis, insufficient oxygen, poisoning, ischemia, and substance abuse.
In January, more than 65 of the National Advisory Board Members of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation came to New York City for a three-day conference in which they drafted the first-ever National PABI Plan. That plan called for the development of a national system of care for children and young adults with brain injuries. A national announcement will be made on Capital Hill Friday, June 5 at 11 a.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building.

A committee of seven leading experts in the field of pediatric neurology reviewed these applications and selected one institution in all 50 states, plus one in the District of Columbia and one in Puerto Rico, to become the State Lead Center in their state/territory to implement the National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury (PABI) plan.