AgrAbility staff members Maureen Cunningham, director, Brain Injury Association of Missouri; Jon Sabala, veterans services director, Department of Mental Health; and Karen Funkenbusch participated in the monthly MOBHA Alliance teleconference. The mission of the MOBHA is to make effective, culturally sensitive behavioral health services accessible to service members, veterans and their families by establishing strategies to raise awareness, increase availability, improve communication, and promote prevention. Alliance members include Army OneSource, Missouri Veterans Commission, Missouri AgrAbility Project, Missouri National Guard, Missouri Association of Veterans Organizations, Brain Injury Association of Missouri, Missouri Coalition of Mental Health Centers, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Department of Mental Health, Truman Medical Center Office of Psychological Services, and University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The "Road map to military resources, A guide to Missouri resources for military service members and their families" has been released. The military resource was developed in partnership with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Missouri National Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs, Missouri AgrAbility, Missouri Veterans Commission, Missouri Association of Veterans Organizations, and Missouri Behavioral Health Alliance. The veteran publication was supported in part by grant #H21MC06740 from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The electronic copy of the "Road Map to Military Resources in Missouri" can be found at www.health.mo.gov/living/families/shcn/pdf/MilitaryResourceGuide.
Maureen Cunningham, director, Brain Injury Association of Missouri, reported that sports-related concussions are frequently in the news these days. A concussion is a brain injury and scientists continue to learn more about the long-term effects of a concussion. But how well do coaches, athletic directors, school nurses, school administrators, game officials, and 4-H leaders know their role in concussion care? As such, the Brain Injury Association of Missouri (BIA-MO) will be hosting Sports Concussions: Facts, Fallacies and New Frontiers in cooperation with the Department of Health and Senior Services/TBI Grant and several statewide organizations, including AgrAbility staff distributing registration material throughout rural communities and to 4-H group leaders. The BIA-MO Sports Concussions: Facts, Fallacies and New Frontiers seminar is based on Concussion Management: The Team Plan written by Joseph F. Waeckerle, MD, FACEP. Dr. Waeckerle will serve as the keynote speaker for each of the five regional seminars to be held throughout Missouri in early 2014:
In January of 2014, the Missouri School of Law will launch a free Veterans Clinic to help veterans, including AgrAbility clients, seeking disability benefits in appellate court. The clinic will be staffed by six law students and directed by law school Professor Angela Drake.
Submitted by Karen Funkenbusch