Services and Supports for Iowans with Brain Injury
This resource page has been developed to guide Iowans with brain injury, their family members, and service providers to information about brain injury and available services and supports.
Iowa Department of Public Health data show nearly 6,500 brain injury hospital admissions occurred between 1997 and 19999, an average of 2,160 each year. In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there are an estimated 50-55,000 Iowans with significant, long-term disability as a result of brain injury (CDC website, 2001).
Following discharge from the hospital, people experiencing a brain injury and their families have historically been left with little understanding of brain injury and its long-term effects. Discharge planners at medical centers struggle with increased caseload numbers and brain injury admissions, which are both increasingly complex and more medically fragile than in past years. Services at the community level are highly fragmented or in some cases nonexistent. Compounding these issues third party reimbursement agencies are requiring patient discharge back home at even shorter intervals.
The information here is designed to help locate information and services. Please call 800-779-2001 (voice) or 877-686-0032 (TTY), or email iowa-compass@uiowa.edu if you have any other needs.
Solutions: Assistive Technology for People with Hidden Disabilities
The Iowa Department of Public Health and the Brain Injury Association of Iowa collaborated with the Iowa Program for Assistive Technology (IPAT) to develope a guide on assistive technology for persons with brain injury. You can find a PDF of the booklet here, Solutions: Assistive Technology for People with Hidden Disabilities.
Brain Injury Resources
Acute Brain Injury Guide: A Guide for Families and Friends (Department of Neurosurgery, UIHC)
Advisory Council on Brain Injury
Brain Injury Association of Iowa
Child Health Specialty Clinics
Disability Determination Services
Consultation Service for Students with Brain Injury (CDD and Iowa Dept. of Education)
Iowa's Educational Network for Students with Brain Injury (Iowa Dept. of Education)
Medicaid Home and Community Based Services Waivers
National Resource Center for Traumatic Brain Injury
The Student with Brain Injury: Achieving Goals for Higher Education
