Yesterday the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved a resolution sponsored by Majority Leader Jon Cooper designating the second week of March "Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Week". The goal is to increase awareness about this life-changing and often irreversible condition.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), also called intracranial injury, is a major public health problem, especially among males ages 15 to 24, and among elderly people of both sexes 75 years and older. Children aged 5 and younger are also at high risk for TBI. Each year, 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury, which equates to one person every 23 seconds.

Traumatic brain injury occurs when a sudden trauma causes brain damage. The leading causes of TBI are motor vehicle crashes, falls and recreational accidents. Diagnosing a person with TBI can be challenging because many of the symptoms are similar to other medical conditions and the severity of the symptoms may change over time. Some symptoms are evident immediately, while others do not surface until several days or weeks after the injury.

"It is important for those with head injuries to receive prompt medical attention, so awareness of the symptoms of traumatic brain injury is extremely important," states Legislator Cooper. "In addition, safety precautions are essential in order to reduce the risk of head trauma."

"5.2 million Americans and their families must now face the tragic, lifelong consequences of brain injury," says Michael Kaplen, president of the Brain Injury Association of New York State. "The Brain Injury Association of New York State wholeheartedly thanks Legislator Cooper for his efforts in raising awareness of this silent epidemic."

"There are so many more survivors of traumatic brain injury due to advances in technology within healthcare," states Liz Giordano, chief executive officer of the Long Island Head Injury Association. "With the increasing number of TBI survivors, social service agencies are challenged with developing creative programing for these individual suvivors and then finding the dollars to sustain these programs."

"Our mission is to create public awareness of traumatic brain injury and the consequences of TBI to individuals and their families," states Jean Baron, vice president of the Long Island Chapter of the Brain Injury Association of New York State. "We need to increase the services and funding for this underserved population."

Cooper's resolution calls for "Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Week" to begin on Sunday, March 11th and run through March 17th of this year. In subsequent years, the awareness week will commence on the second week of March.