Programs
Tennessee
TBI Lead Agency
Bureau of Health Services
Health Services Medical Section
Cordell Hull Building 5th Floor
425 Fifth Ave. North
Nashville, TN 37247-5207
Jean Doster
Dept. of Health
615-741-1230
615-741-1063 (Fax)
Jean.Doster@state.tn.us
Service Delivery
In Tennessee individuals with TBI of all ages would contact the Department of Health Traumatic Brain Injury Program via their toll-free number for information and referral services. The TBI Program also connects callers to one of eight TBI service coordinators located in various non-profit agencies across the State. The service coordinator's role is to assess current resource needs, develop a comprehensive plan of care, refer individuals and families to available resources, and to coordinate services.
The Traumatic Brain Injury Program is authorized to provide grants to county and municipal governments and/or nonprofit organizations for home and community-based programs. Grant awards have been used for establish or expand programs such as day treatment, housing, supportive living services, education and prevention, behavioral counseling, camp, professional training, and service coordination. The grants are funded through the TBI Trust Fund.
Individuals with TBI in need of rehabilitative residential care may contact the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center (TRC) operated by the Department of Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation services or the nearest Vocational Rehabilitation office. TRC provides vocational training services and is the location of the Traumatic Brain Injury Program, a specialized rehabilitation program designed to assist individuals to reach their highest level of functioning in order to live and work as independently as possible.
The TBI rehabilitation team provides diagnostic, vocational, academic, and therapeutic services necessary for transition to the community and to employment. Services include vocational evaluation, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language therapy, neuropsychological evaluation, case management, behavioral instruction, psychological counseling services, vocational job placement, job coaching, follow along, and supportive services. In addition to the rehabilitation team, students in the TBI Program may have access to the following services: visually impaired services, driving assessment, rehabilitation engineering, student health services to include physician services and psychiatric services, resident services, recreation therapy, and alcohol/drug assessment.
Find out more information on this State's services in its current profile by clicking here. [PDF 50KB]. You can also order a hardcopy of our latest "Guide to State Government Brain Injury Policies, Funding and Services" for profiles of all States and much more.
HRSA-Funded Projects
Tennessee received an Implementation Grant beginning in 2000 and two Post-Demonstration Grants in 2003 and 2004. The overall goal of Project Brain is to improve educational outcomes for children with brain injuries in Tennessee. Project Brain objectives include:
- Increasing awareness of children and youth with brain injury who are served by the school system.
- Providing training and technical assistance to schools, families, and health care providers in the early identification of children with TBI.
- Supporting "Brain Resource Teams" within selected school systems that will consult locally on issues of developing supports for Tennessee students with brain injuries.
- Promoting effective communication between health care providers and educators to facilitate successful transitions.
Find more information on this State's project in its current grant profile.
Promising Practices
Beginning in 1999 the Tennessee TBI Program developed distance learning teleconferences to train professionals who work with individuals with TBI. These four-hour sessions are broadcast to eight interactive sites across the State and have a capacity of 200. Distance learning presents an opportunity for professionals to attend training on brain injury issues in their home community. To date, over 1,000 people have attended six distance-learning sessions.
Click here for a summary of the State's Brain Injury Training Portfolio
