02/06/2008 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES

        SCR 17-BRAIN INJURY AWARENESS MONTH: MARCH 2008                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:35:54 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DAVIS announced SCR 17 to be up for consideration.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  McGUIRE, sponsor  of SCR  17,  said the  reason this  is                                                               
important to  her is that  her brother was  in a car  accident in                                                               
1992 and suffered  a traumatic brain injury. At  that time Alaska                                                               
was  ill   prepared  to   respond  to   her  family's   need  for                                                               
information.  The point  of the  resolution is  to make  March of                                                               
2008  Brain Injury  Awareness Month,  to raise  awareness of  the                                                               
problem  and bring  attention to  prevention,  treatment and  the                                                               
support that  is available to  victims and their  families. Brain                                                               
injury  is  the  leading  cause of  death  and  disability  among                                                               
children and young  adults in Alaska. An  estimated 12,000 people                                                               
state wide  have suffered from  traumatic brain injury  (TBI) and                                                               
most have suffered in silence.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:38:16 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR McGUIRE  continued that the  problem is  often overlooked                                                               
because  victims   of  traumatic  brain  injury   are  not  often                                                               
encountered in public  and the families of victims  don't tend to                                                               
talk  about it.  Although  passing a  resolution  cannot fix  the                                                               
problem  in  any immediate  way,  passing  a resolution  and  the                                                               
testimony  that goes  with it  can highlight  a really  important                                                               
problem.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:40:42 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  DYSON said  he had  asked before  whether the  committee                                                               
would  consider  making  it  "Brain  Injury  Month"  rather  than                                                               
"Traumatic Brain Injury  Month" in light of the  fact that Alaska                                                               
leads the  nation in  non-traumatic brain  injuries, particularly                                                               
pre-natal  alcohol syndrome.  He wondered  whether the  committee                                                               
had considered  his request to make  that change in the  focus of                                                               
this month.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR McGUIRE pointed  out that the title of  the resolution is                                                               
"Brain  Injury Awareness  Month,"  but agreed  that  it would  be                                                               
helpful  to  offer  more  statistics  about  non-traumatic  brain                                                               
injury and  said she  was willing  to do so.  She added  that the                                                               
Brain  Injury Network  has evolved  to  include a  focus on  non-                                                               
traumatic  brain  injuries and  would  be  able to  provide  more                                                               
information.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:42:19 PM                                                                                                                    
JILL  HODGES, Executive  Director, Alaska  Brain Injury  Network,                                                               
Anchorage AK,  said it is  important to keep traumatic  injury in                                                               
focus because the  state has begun to develop  capacity for other                                                               
sorts of  brain injuries  such as  fetal alcohol  syndrome (FASD)                                                               
and  stroke,  but  awareness and  services  for  traumatic  brain                                                               
injury were still very limited. She  felt that if they could beef                                                               
up  the system  for traumatic  brain injury,  the other  acquired                                                               
brain injuries would also benefit  from increases to state funded                                                               
brain injury programs.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:43:19 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  DYSON  said  he inferred  that,  although  non-traumatic                                                               
brain  injury  is hugely  important,  they  would prefer  not  to                                                               
dilute their efforts here away from traumatic brain injury.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. HODGES agreed.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:44:38 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR THOMAS  commented that he  shares the same  concerns that                                                               
Senator Dyson articulated,  although he was unwilling  to hold up                                                               
the resolution based  on his concerns. He stated that  there is a                                                               
fair  amount  of  information  available  about  traumatic  brain                                                               
injury  and non-traumatic  brain injury.  Both are  important and                                                               
should be  emphasized. The  title is  already appropriate  and he                                                               
encouraged  them  to  continue  to look  at  the  possibility  of                                                               
broadening the focus as the resolution moves forward.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:45:57 PM                                                                                                                    
RICHARD  WARRINGTON,  Ambassador,  Brain  Injury  Association  of                                                               
America, Anchorage  AK, said  he is the  survivor of  a traumatic                                                               
brain  injury  that occurred  over  30  years  ago and  is  still                                                               
disabled from  his injury.  He encouraged  the committee  to pass                                                               
the  resolution   and  apprised  them  that   congress  was  also                                                               
considering  a  resolution  to create  a  national  brain  injury                                                               
awareness month.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
1:47:10 PM                                                                                                                    
MARY  WARRINGTON,  Board  Member, Alaska  Brain  Injury  Network,                                                               
Anchorage AK, said  her two brothers suffered  brain injuries and                                                               
people need to be made aware of the problem.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  THOMAS  moved  to  report SCR  17  from  committee  with                                                               
individual  recommendations and  attached  fiscal note(s).  There                                                               
being no objection, the motion carried.