Faculty members in the Marshall University College of Health Professions have partnered with the Center for Excellence in Disabilities (CED) at West Virginia University to offer a local support group for those with traumatic brain injuries.
The support group held its first meeting Jan. 28 and will continue its sessions tomorrow evening at the main branch of the Cabell County Library. Dr. Carrie Childers, group organizer and professor in the college’s Department of Communication Disorders, said the Brain Injury Group (BIG) was created to provide support, education and information about services for individuals with brain injuries and the people associated with them.
“According to a study conducted by the West Virginia University Injury Control Research Center, there are 22,000 new traumatic brain injury cases each year in West Virginia,” Childers said. “In addition, there have been 1.3 to 3.8 million sports-and-recreation-related traumatic brain injuries in the United States each year, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
The next support group will meet at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the main branch of the Cabell County Library located at 455 9th St. in Huntington. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for March 25 and April 29.
To attend Wednesday’s meeting, RSVP to Childers at childersca@marshall.edu or call 304-696-2984.
For more information about BIG or the programs and services offered in Marshall’s College of Health Professions, visit www.marshall.edu/cohp.
WHO: Faculty from Marshall’s College of Health Professions and representatives from the Center for Excellence in Disabilities
WHAT: Brain Injury Group (BIG) –Traumatic Brain Injury Support Group
WHEN: 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25
WHERE: Cabell County Library, 455 9th St., Huntington.
