This past September, I attended a conference that was sponsored by the Brian Injury Association of MI (BIAMI). One of the speakers was Susan H. Connors, the President and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America.
The major theme of Ms. Connor’s speech was funding, specifically, the US allocation of Federal dollars per person per year. Ms. Connor further broke the figures down by the disability poputlation. They are as follows:
- HIV/AIDS population–$18,111.00
- Mental Retardation/Developmental Disability population–$4635.00
- Breast Cancer–$295.00
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) –$2.55
Also, the cost to society has been broken down as follows:
- 25 billion per year in 1989.
- 48 billion per year in 1995.
- $53.6 billion per year in 2005.
More below.
Another statistic cited by Ms. O’Connor:
- The incidence of traumatic brain injury in soldiers returning from Iraq is as high as 50%.
- In all previous wars, apporoximately 20% of all military casualties sustained a brain injury.
Figures cite an approximate of 7000 people who will need information, rehabilitation, transportation, housing, vocational rehabilitation and other health care/social programs. Also, TBI accounts for approximately 10% of the disability population, and only 2% of the public vocational rehabilitation caseload.
Another statistic cited by Ms. O’Connor: There are at leat 5.3 million Americans living with a disability as a result of a traumatic brain injury. Two percent of the US population is a voting block worth noticing