sr788_Committee_sub_LC_33_2381S_4.html
08 LC 33 2381S

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee offered the following substitute to SR 788:

A RESOLUTION

Creating the Senate Study Committee on Brain Injury Related Neurobehavioral Issues in Georgia; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, there is concern over the unmet needs of people with brain injury related neurobehavioral issues in Georgia; and

WHEREAS, neurobehavioral issues are problems with a person´s ability to behave socially, communicate, and control emotions, which can result in a threat to themselves or others and which are caused by an injury to the brain such as traumatic brain injury or acquired brain injury; and

WHEREAS, traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability for any American age 45 or younger; and

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that there are 1.5 million new traumatic brain injuries every year in the United States, which are primarily caused by motor vehicle accidents, falls, sports injuries, and violence; and

WHEREAS, among more than 42,000 Georgians with traumatic brain injury were treated and released from emergency departments in 2005, 6,320 sustained traumatic brain injuries were severe enough to require admission to the hospital; of these people with severe injuries, it is estimated that 34 percent of them will be permanently disabled; and

WHEREAS, in addition, approximately 15,000 other Georgians each year are discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment for acquired brain injuries that are the result of strokes, tumors, and other medical conditions; and

WHEREAS, these statistics only reveal the number of people treated for brain injuries in Georgia hospitals and do not include people who seek treatment from other medical facilities, out-of-state facilities, or not at all, nor do these figures include members of the military, where traumatic brain injury has been identified as the "signature wound" of the Iraq War; and

WHEREAS, it is estimated that approximately 187,000 Georgians have a long-term or lifelong disability relating to a traumatic brain injury, and that, of these, it is estimated that up to 18,700 of them will require ongoing, intensive services and supports due to the neurobehavioral issues they present to their families and communities, and that this number does not include the number of people with neurobehavioral issues caused by acquired brain injury; and

WHEREAS, in the United States, the average lifetime cost of care for a person with a moderate to severe brain injury can range from $600,000.00 to $1,875,000.00, and the costs for a person with a severe brain injury, including someone with significant neurobehavioral
issues, can reach as high as $4,000,000.00, particularly when timely and appropriate services and rehabilitation have not been provided; and

WHEREAS, neurobehavioral issues caused by brain injury must be distinguished from other cognitive behavioral disabilities such as mental illness or developmental disabilities because the problems, needs, and support strategies are very different, as well as because people with brain injury are generally not eligible to receive services from the mental health or developmental disabilities service systems; and

WHEREAS, a coordinated system of care would significantly improve the quality of life for people with neurobehavioral issues, enable them to live in the community or the least restrictive and most appropriate community based setting possible, and reduce the use of state funds for inappropriate and ineffective services; and

WHEREAS, a coordinated system of care for people with neurobehavioral issues currently does not exist in Georgia, and as a result of the lack of sufficient funding and appropriate and effective services, a large number of Georgians with neurobehavioral issues are ending up in costly settings such as nursing homes, prisons, or state hospitals, or they are placed out of state or end up homeless; and

WHEREAS, such inappropriate placements are taking a significant toll on lives as well as the State of Georgia in terms of higher costs of care, lost wages, and lost opportunities to contribute both personally and economically to local communities; and
WHEREAS, the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission has issued a detailed report on the needs of Georgians with neurobehavioral issues entitled "Georgia´s Neurobehavioral Crisis: Lack of Coordinated Care, Inappropriate Institutionalizations," which describes successful models for services and supports for people with neurobehavioral issues in other states.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that there is created the Senate Study Committee on Brain Injury Related Neurobehavioral Issues in Georgia to be composed of five members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. In addition, the committee membership shall include five nonlegislative members to be comprised of the following: one person or the immediate family member of a person with neurobehavioral issues caused by brain injury, one provider of neurobehavioral services, one commission member of the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission, one member from the Department of Community Health, and one member from the Department of Labor. All nonlegislative members shall be appointed by the chairperson of the study committee.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and as described in the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission´s report for the purpose of determining the infrastructure and funding necessary to develop and implement a coordinated system of care for people with brain injury related neurobehavioral issues and to recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate to accomplish this.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee may conduct meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution. The members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. The funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from the funds appropriated to the Senate. In the event the committee makes a report of its findings and recommendations, with suggestions for proposed legislation, if any, such report shall be made on or before December 31, 2008. The committee shall stand abolished on December 31, 2008.