Brain Injury Association of Maryland

BIAMD responded to more than 3,500 phone calls, emails, and social media inquiries last year from individuals with brain injuries, their family members and professionals looking for help and guidance. BIAMD's informational website, www.biamd.org, consistently receives an average of over 2,300 visits per month with the main landing page, concussion resources page, and the brain injury waiver information page receiving the most visits. In FY 2025, BIAMD continued its weekly blogpost, #5ThoughtsFridays, to be distributed to over 6,000 individuals with brain injuries, family members, and healthcare providers statewide. BIAMD renewed and expanded its grants from the Maryland Department of Health, Behavioral Health Administration, now providing for four TBI Waiver Case Managers and a full-time administrator for the administration of the Maryland TBI Waiver Program. As a result of this renewal, BIAMD continues to provide a continuum of brain injury services. These services now include TBI Waiver enrollment and application assistance for individuals currently homeless or at risk of homelessness, in danger of incarceration, and/or inappropriately placed in restricted units of skilled nursing facilities. In addition, BIAMD continues to provide Case Management for the 120 individuals currently receiving TBI Waiver services. Finally, in light of the challenges presented to the brain injury community as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, BIAMD launched several online initiatives including a bi-monthly podcast, Brain Injury Connector (now in its 6th season with over 60 episodes), an online webinar series directly addressing the needs and interests of those individuals with brain injury, and a weekly on-line, peer-support and social group, Check-In Chat, with an average attendance of 16 participants representing 5 states and the District of Columbia. This weekly online meeting was so successful, in FY22, it was extended from one-hour to two-hours and continues as of this writing to meet participant demand. Funding challenges at both the federal and state level remain a significant concern moving forward with major rollbacks in brain injury research, racking, education, and outreach making our work of giving the voice to the medically compromised individuals with brain injuries, their families, and the health care providers who support them.