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Milwaukee (6/5/2009) - 52 top health care institutions work together to help kids
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin has been named the brain injury State Lead Center for Wisconsin as part of a national network of health care institutions in what is being called the largest collaborative effort in the nation for children with brain injury.
In conjunction with Children's Hospital, 51 other institutions will work together to address the No. 1 cause of death and disability for children and young adults in the U.S.: brain injury.
"Head injuries result in serious, long-term health, function and economic consequences for our children, families and communities," said Elizabeth Moberg-Wolff, MD, who leads the center. Dr. Moberg-Wolff is program director of Tone Management and Mobility at Children's Hospital and associate professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The Medical College of Wisconsin. "Our collaborative goal is it improve prevention, research, clinical treatment, education and transition for those impacted by pediatric brain injury."
In January, The Sarah Jane Brain Project brought together more than 60 of the top pediatric neurologists in the country and drafted the first-ever National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury Plan, which calls for the development of a national system of collaboration to address the issue.
The Sarah Jane Brain Project held an open application period in March for children's hospitals, research universities and other health care organizations to apply to be the State Lead Centers to implement the National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury Plan.
A selection committee of experts across the country reviewed the applications and selected one institution in every state, plus one each in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, most capable of being the State Lead Center for their state.
As the State Lead Center, Children's Hospital will develop the master plan of care for children and young adults with brain injuries in Wisconsin.
"We are so honored to have Children's Hospital of Wisconsin as the State Lead Center for Wisconsin and as part of this national network of the best health care institutions in the country," stated Sarah Jane Brain Project founder Patrick Donohue. "It is shocking to realize that despite brain injury being the leading killer and disabler of our children, nothing has ever before been done to develop a nationally standardized medical or educational plan to address it. There is very little public awareness of pediatric brain injury." Donohue started the Sarah Jane Brain Project in October 2007 after his daughter Sarah Jane was shaken by her baby nurse, causing a severe brain injury.
The national announcement will be made at a press conference on Capitol Hill today, June 5.
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