On October 25, I will be attending the US Congressional BRIEFING: The Silent Epidemic in America – Brain Injury and Domestic Violence on Wednesday, 10 am (see the official letter below).

As the executive director of PINK Concussions, I will be traveling to DC for the briefing to tweet the comments by the panel and capture the spirit of the event on social media. Here is my unofficial report from the first hearing on Female Brain Injury Female TBI Hearing in June 2016 (which has over 2,100 views).

Here is the official invitation for the upcoming briefing:

__________________________________________

BRIEFING: The Silent Epidemic in America – Brain Injury and Domestic Violence

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Congressional Meeting Room North – Capitol Visitor Center (CVC-268)

Dear Colleague,

Please join us for an important briefing "The Silent Epidemic in America – Brain Injury and Domestic Violence" on October 25 from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. in the Congressional Meeting Room North in Capitol Visitor Center (CVC-268).

Over recent years we have made remarkable progress in increasing awareness and research, as well as improving prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, there is a major segment of the TBI-survivor population that receives little attention: survivors who sustained their injuries as a result of domestic violence. In addition to further exploring the correlation between brain injury and domestic violence in our research, we must also work to raise awareness about the prevalence of TBI in this population, and overcome specific challenges domestic violence survivors face when receiving a diagnosis and accessing necessary supports and services to aid in their recovery. Our, briefing, "The Silent Epidemic in America – Brain Injury and Domestic Violence" will explore these issues further.

The briefing will feature:

Javier Cárdenas, M.D. (Director, Barrow Concussion and Brain Injury Center)
Pam Hallman (Domestic Violence and TBI Survivor)
Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D. (Chief, Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) (invited)
Anne McDonnell (Executive Director, Brain Injury Association of Virginia)

The briefing will be moderated by Susan Connors, the President and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America.

Please contact Alyssa Penna in Rep. Pascrell's office at alyssa.penna@mail.house.gov, Ethan Abner in Rep. Rooney's office at ethan.abner@mail.house.gov, or Izmira Aitch in Rep. Moore's office at izmira.aitch@mail.house.gov with any questions or for more information.

Sincerely,

Bill Pascrell, Jr. Thomas J. Rooney Gwen Moore

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Co-Chair, Congressional Brain Co-Chair, Congressional Brain

Injury Task Force Injury Task Force

@BillPascrell

Alyssa Penna

Legislative Director/ Health Policy Advisor

Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09)