Run, Walk Roll for Brain Injury Partnership with Camp Cranium Saturday, April 27, 2024 Tyler State Park, Newtown/Richoro, PA
BIAPA 2024 Annual Conference Creating Roadmaps for Brain Injury Rehabilitation: The Journey from Initial Treatment to Community Inclusion
JUNE 24-25, 2024 Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square - Lancaster, PA
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
Don't miss out on the opportunity to attend BIAPA's annual conference, "Creating Roadmaps for Brain Injury Rehabilitation: The Journey from Initial Treatment to Community Inclusion.”
This two-day event, taking place on June 24th and 25th at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square in Lancaster, PA, promises to be a valuable learning experience.
Designed for Professionals, Survivors, Family Members, Caregivers & Volunteers.
11 CEU and CE Opportunities
Exhibits & Poster Presentations
Networking and Social Opportunities
Coffee House and Open Mic for Attendees to share their Poetry, Music or Stories
BIAPA is grateful for donations to the Silent Auction at our Annual Conference, to be held in Lancaster on June 24, 2024. Monies from the Silent Auction support the cost of scholarships for survivors to attend the conference. Priority is given to first-time attendees, but the Silent Auction typically supports other survivors and their caregivers as well, in accordance with the scholarship guidelines. BIAPA recognizes the value of a conference that fosters interactions and the exchange of ideas between professionals, survivors, family members, caregivers, researchers and educators. The more money generated by Silent Auction items and scholarship donations, the more survivors can attend; as the saying goes, “The more the merrier.” But even if you cannot attend the conference yourself, a donation from you will be greatly appreciated and your name will be shown on the bidding sheet at the conference.
The Silent Auction is FUN, and it allows attendees to bid on items that appeal to them. As well as “big ticket items,” the Silent Auction will include items priced affordably for more attendees to bid on them. So please, fill out the Silent Auction Form that follows and donate an item. If you don’t want to contribute an item because you don’t like to shop, please consider a monetary donation of ANY size, to enhance the rich value of having more survivors at the conference to share their first-hand experiences and personal expertise.
Spread the word! Ask your friends, neighbors and relatives to consider donating for such a worthwhile cause.
DONATE TO THE DAVID L. STRAUSS SCHOLARSHIP FUND HERE
Award Nominations
NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO NOMINATE SOMEONE OR AN ORGANIZATION FOR A BIAPA AWARD!
Awards are presented at the BIAPA Annual Conference, to be held this year in Lancaster on June 24-25, 2024. Nominations must be submitted to BIAPA on the 2024 Award Nomination form and will be reviewed by the Awards Committee. The recipients of the awards will be honored during the Annual Meeting on Monday, June 24 between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. The co-chairs of the conference will present the awards to the recipients. Recipients will receive a plaque or similar award, but, in the interest of time, will not be invited to give an acceptance speech. They will be photographed and profiled in Headlines, the BIAPA Newsletter.
On March 6, 2024, 248 brain injury advocates, representing 38 states, went to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to educate legislators about the needs of persons with brain injury and their families. As you see in the picture above, Pennsylvania was well represented! Together, advocates made visits to 217 legislative offices, amplifying the importance of brain injury awareness and support at the national level. The special focus of this year's meeting was to advocate for the reauthorization of the Traumatic Brain Injury Act. It was a great day!
You didn't have to be in Washington that day to make your voice heard, though! You can participate in a letter writing campaign to ask your legislators for their support to ensure this bill is not only reauthorized, but that we improve the existing law to better serve persons with brain injury and those who care for them.
The Brain Injury Association of America has created a template with a sample letter than you can personalize and have automatically sent to your legislators. A link to information about the TBI Act, a sample letter and instructions for sending your personalized letter can be found HERE.
Concert to Benefit BIAPA View online or in person - Friday, April 19. CLICK HERE for details and to register.
Suicidality and Self Harm in Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury: Characterization, Assessment and Management
Presentation and Discussion with: Amelia Hicks, Ph.D. Post-Doctoral Fellow, Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
In this session, Dr Hicks will discuss death by suicide, suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and self-harm in individuals with TBI. She will explore prevalence and incidence, measurement tools, and discuss factors (personal, injury, environmental) that have been associated with suicidality and self-harm. This presentation will conclude with a review of interventions trialed to date and future directions for this critically important issue.
This session is intended for a professional audience and is free.
ReDiscover U is offering some great online learning experiences in the upcoming month!
Classes are held on Monday nights at 6 PM ET via Zoom. Use thislink to join any of the classes at 6 PM on Mondays.
April 1 SHARE Night! Please join us for a special night of story-sharing. All brain injury survivors are welcome to share their life experiences as they look to empower themselves while inspiring hope in others.
For more information about ReDiscover U, CLICK HERE.
Support Group Corner
The BIAPA statewide virtual support group will meet Thursday, April 18 at 5 PM. This tight-knit community consists of survivors, caregivers, family and professionals from across the state of Pennsylvania! Please use thisZoom Link to access the meeting.
A message from group facilitators, Roberta Brooks & Joel Tumberello:
We are grateful to the PA Department of Health and The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania for supporting the expansion of the scope of topics covered within the Coping with COVID Support Group. In 2024, we will be expanding our scope to cover information of concern regarding a variety of health matters that often co-occur with COVID, as well as brain injury. The group will continue to meet the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
BIAPA's next Caregiver Support Group will be held on Wednesday April 9 at 6 PM. This monthly, virtual meeting is open to all caregivers. The meetings are an excellent opportunity for caregivers to meet one another, share experiences and discuss topics of unique relevance to their roles. No pre-registration is required! To join this monthly meeting, use this Zoom Link.
To sign up for email alerts for one of the virtual groups listed above, follow this link to complete a brief registration form.
A full list of all of Pennsylvania's Brain Injury Support Groups, along with contact information for each, is on the BIAPA website's Support Group Listing Page. We are currently updating this information, and while we have done so for most groups, there are still some that we're trying to reach. If you're aware of groups that are meeting either virtually or in-person and are not on our listing, or if you have any updated details about a group on the list, please contact Melanie Morrison morrison@biapa.org so that we can let others know about them.
.jpg)
.png)
