Did you know that March has been christened Brain Injury Awareness Month? With that in mind, a U.S. Senator from Utah has recently introduced a head trauma bill reauthorizing a federal law supporting programs for people with traumatic brain injuries, or TBI. More than 5.3 million Americans suffer from TBI, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, with most of those personal injuries occurring during falls or car accidents.

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah introduced a new head trauma bill last Wednesday to the Senate. Co-sponsored with U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, this legislation would allocate money for services for people affected by brain injuries, fund projects for injured veterans, and help states develop treatment capacity for these injuries. This federal head trauma legislation would also put the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in charge of determining how common TBI is in the general population. Hatch and Kennedy sponsored the original TBI legislation in 1996.

Around two percent of the U.S. population requires lifelong or long-term care for a brain injury. According to a statistic cited in a Utah Daily Herald story, 67 percent of Iraq casualties involved some level of brain injury. Hatch said that this legislation would help provide resources for networks which treat returning soldiers. He added that the overall goal of this bill is to help patients get the best possible care early on so they may recover from their brain injuries.

In addition to Hatch’s efforts in the nation’s Capitol, Utah state legislators have already tried to achieve similar means this year. State Representative James Gowans and Senator Darin Petersen tried to secure $500,000 for a Traumatic Brain Injury Fund which would help establish outreach programs for TBI and help train medical professionals in treating this condition. However, this legislation stalled in the Utah Legislature last month for the second year in a row.