Thousands of Iowans with a traumatic brain injury will lose key advocates ensuring they have the support they need in recovery

• 17,000 people in Iowa have a traumatic brain injury each year
• About 28 percent of adults with a brain injury reported being diagnosed with a depressive disorder, compared to 16 percent of adults without a brain injury, according to the report
• About 19 percent reported experiencing 14 or more poor mental health days in the past 30 days, which included stress, depression and emotional disturbances, compared to 11 percent of adults without a brain injury
• Thirteen percent of children in Iowa reported having a concussion from playing a sport or being physically active in the previous 12 months

Months after a new report showing 17,000 people in Iowa have a traumatic brain injury each year, a new bill signed into law reduces the number of state boards and commissions, including the Iowa Advisory Council on Brain Injury.

However, Dr. Robert Kruse, state medical director and division director of Public Health, said the work done by the advisory council “continues to be important,” and likely will be taken up in a subcommittee under the Health and Human Services Advisory Council.

The bill — Sen. File 2385 — reduces more than 200 of the state’s boards and commissions by about 40 percent. In a statement on the bill last week, Gov. Kim Reynolds said the legislation will result in more effective and efficient delivery of services to Iowans.

The bill “eliminates unnecessary and redundant boards and commissions, returning accountability to the people of Iowa through their elected representatives,” Reynolds said.

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Advocates for people with a brain injury, however, are concerned about the elimination of the advisory council. It meets the “specific needs” of people with brain injuries and their caregivers, said Dr. Kami Holst, a professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport and a certified brain injury specialist.

About one in four adults in Iowa have experienced a brain injury in their lifetime, according to a report from January from Iowa Health and Human Services. That’s about 600,000 Iowans, said Geoffrey Lauer, chief strategic officer for the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa.

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The Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa is a nonprofit organization that advocates for, deploys and develops services designed to support Iowans with a brain injury in accessing and keeping a range of services and supports to help these injuries. They also provide education to help raise awareness about brain injuries and how to prevent it.

The number of traumatic brain injuries in Iowa is “quite a lot,” Kruse said. Collecting the data helps advisory groups make recommendations to lawmakers. It also helps advocates and people in the medical field gain greater awareness about what services and supports people with brain injuries and their caregivers need in Iowa.

For example, about 28 percent of adults with a brain injury reported being diagnosed with a depressive disorder, compared to 16 percent of adults without a brain injury, according to the report.

About 19 percent reported experiencing 14 or more poor mental health days in the past 30 days, which included stress, depression and emotional disturbances, compared to 11 percent of adults without a brain injury.

Thirteen percent of children in Iowa reported having a concussion from playing a sport or being physically active in the previous 12 months. Of those who reported having a concussion, 30 percent had been in a physical fight within the last 12 months compared to 14 percent of adults without a concussion.

The 2021-26 state plan from the Iowa Advisory Council on Brain Injuries seeks to reduce the impact of brain injury by recommending policies and programs to reduce the occurrence of brain injuries and to improve outcomes for people with a brain injury.

Individuals who have experienced homelessness, incarceration, domestic violence or behavioral health conditions are likely to have a history of brain injury, according to the report.

Brain injury is not like a “broken arm,” Lauer said. “(A broken arm) does heal, and it heals fastest and most robustly with intensive specialized services,” he said. A brain injury, however, is a chronic condition.

Holst, who is also a board member for the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa, co-founded the first brain injury “clubhouse” in the state called Empower House in Davenport. The programs it offers help brain injury survivors continue to heal and have a place of belonging after therapy.

At Empower House, people with a brain injury can learn to work, live independently, relearn social skills and get help getting a job in the community.

More programs like this are needed across the state, Holst said. These programs can help improve the quality of life of people with brain injuries and mitigate the number of people with brain injuries who end up homeless, incarcerated or unnecessarily impoverished.

“Recovery doesn’t follow the timeline insurance dictates,” Holst said

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