NICoE to Host First Annual Walk for TBI Awareness Month

Staff, patients and their loved ones are invited for a walk for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Awareness Month, hosted by the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) tomorrow, March 27, at noon.

The walk, which will begin at the center, will take participants around the outside of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) and end back at the center at approximately 12:45 p.m. Those who attend are encouraged to wear green, the color chosen to signify March as National TBI Awareness Month, and to show solidarity for those in need of support.

After considering how we could get campus recognition about brain injury awareness, [we decided] organizing a campus awareness walk would be a great way to spread knowledge about brain injury and the excellent treatment we give to patients and families at WRNMMC, said Cmdr. Karen Livornese, service chief for Clinical Education and Outreach at NICoE. She hopes the event will expand in years to come, she said, allowing staff members to eventually walk into the city of Bethesda to help raise TBI awareness.

Often referred to as an invisible wound, a TBI is the result of a blow or jolt to the head, resulting in the disruption of the brains normal function. During March, the Military Health System is focusing on TBI awareness, by providing tools and resources to help educate military members, their families, retirees and personnel about prevention and treatment. Each year, an estimated 1.7 million people are diagnosed with a brain injury the most common form being a mild TBI, also known as a concussion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2000 and 2014, more than 313,000 service members were diagnosed with a TBI, most of which were mild, the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center reports.

The NICoE, part of WRNMMC, opened its doors in June 2010 to provide cutting-edge TBI evaluation, treatment, research and education for service members and their families dealing with traumatic brain injuries and psychological health conditions. The center takes an interdisciplinary, patient-centered approach, using a care model that includes clinical evaluation, patient and family-focused intervention, and individualized treatment planning, using care teams representing more than 16 disciplines.

For more information about the walk, email Cmdr. Livornese at karen.e.livornese.mil@mail.mil. To learn more about the NICoE, and traumatic brain injury, visit nicoe.capmed.mil and health.mil/tbi.

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NICoE to Host First Annual Walk for TBI Awareness Month