Brain Injury Association of New York State Inc

BIANYS operates the family Helpline, a toll-free information and resource clearing house. Whether you are seeking information on traumatic brain injury, looking for resources on stroke rehabilitation. Or just trying to find your way, BIANYS is here to help! (Continued on Schedule O)We have resources for individuals with brain injury, family members, professionals, schools, or any other interested parties including: finding a local support group, locating brain injury rehabilitation services in your area, getting help with benefit programs and social services, resources for legal advocacy, the Medicaid TBI and NHTD waiver program, caregiver supports, training requests, services for children, including the FACTS program, and locating regional support group meetings. BIANYS advocates for brain injury survivors so that everyone has access to the services they need. These are issues we are currently working on: Continuum of Care for People with a Traumatic Brain Injury, BIANYS proposes a plan that details four recommendations to address the needs of the brain injury survivor to get the help they need from the time of their injury to the time they integrate back into their community. Amend the 2011 New York State Concussion Management Awareness Act to address the current disparate nature of brain injury services and strengthen advisory and coordination channels. BIANYS also advocates for many issues that confront the brain injury community daily through webinars, action alerts, legislative meeting and education. The BIANYS launched the Concussion Initiative Advisory Committee in 2017 as an interdisciplinary approach to issues related to concussion. Members include 40+ health care, education and advocacy professionals from across the state, all of whom share the goal of improving concussion education and care for all New Yorkers. The goal of the Concussion Initiative are to identify and implement protocols that achieve a successful Return-to-Life for all New Yorkers who sustain concussions, advocate for public policy addressing concussion, and to implement educational standards that address concussion. The Concussion Initiative developed sub-committees that specialize in four significant areas. They are: Legislation and policy which reviews current New York State legislation and policies, issues recommendations, and works with elected leaders and other stakeholders to increase awareness, diagnosis and management of concussion; Public awareness and funding which focuses on developing greater public awareness and pursuing sustainable financial support for the work of the Concussion Initiative; Centers for Excellence which analyzes health care systems and issues recommendations for innovative ideas that expand access to interdisciplinary concussion evaluation and treatment centers, including the integration of updated evidence based guidelines; Return to Life which reviews guidelines and protocols related to concussion management and generates specific recommendations for integration of "Return to Life and Activity" protocols within medical, educational, vocational settings.The BIANYS Family Fund provides emergency support to individuals with brain injury and their families. Applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, following Fund guidelines.