Kentucky Brain Injury Camp Receives Grant To Support Survivors

The Brain Injury Adventure Camp is the recipient of a $26,390 grant from the Moritz Foundation that will expand its recreational services to participants.

The money will be used to build a multi-tier, high ropes challenge course at the camp, which is located on 42 acres in Robards.  Founded in 2010, it offers day programs to adults and children with brain injuries and other disabilities.

More than 850,000 people in Kentucky are living with a brain injury today. The state’s rate of brain injury is more than twice the national average and the leading cause of death based on population, according to the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky (BIAK).

Some brain injuries, such as strokes, occur frequently and no one is at fault. However, a large number of people in Kentucky suffer brain injuries in accidents that could have been prevented. Car accidents, truck crashes, motorcycle collisions, bicycle wrecks, pedestrian accidents, falls, medical malpractice and other forms of negligence can result in brain injuries that can drastically impact the quality of life for victims and their families.

Brain injuries can range from mild to catastrophic. The worst cases result in cognitive, physical and emotional disabilities that can prevent victims from resuming a normal life. The impact on families can be drastic. It may rob them of a valuable source of household income and companionship in the household.

Furthermore, brain injuries require intensive medical care and rehabilitation. The most severely injured can incur more than $1.5 million in medical expenses during their lifetimes. Lost wages account for an additional $1.5 million, according to BIAK.

Brain injury survivors may also suffer from disabilities that can lead to isolation and an inability to participate in recreational activities that they used to engage in with their friends and families. Kentucky residents are fortunate to have resources such as the Brain Injury Adventure Camp to provide opportunities to those survivors, but some brain injury support programs cost money that families do not have. State agencies such as the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services can help disabled victims learn about their state and federal options, but the reality is that many times money provided through Social Security and Supplemental Security Disability Income (SSDI) cannot begin to cover the lifelong costs of brain injury.