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2018 Spring Conference

ANNUAL SPRING CONFERENCE 2018
STANDARDS FOR POST-CONCUSSION CARE
THE RIGHT CARE AT THE RIGHT TIME, WITH THE RIGHT PROVIDER

This year’s ABI Conference was held at the Fogolar Furlan Club on June 20, 2018 with 65 in attendance.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Diana Velikonya is a Clinical Neuropsychologist, providing consultative and treatment services. She is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences in the medical school of McMaster University. She was on the Board of the Hamilton Brain Injury Association and is President –Elect of the Ontario Psychological Association.

Conference Committee 2018
Patricia Fleet, Renee Cantarutti, Leann Sassine, Anna Jurak, Dr. Anne McLachlan, Laura Wilkie and Diane Bradford.

A distinguished panel of local health care professionals shared their knowledge and expertise with health care providers attending this one day conference:
• Diane Bradford, Manager of Regional Trauma Program/Injury Prevention, Critical Care Services for Windsor Regional Hospital Ouellette Campus
• Dr. Stewart Plotnick, Psychologist is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Windsor. He is currently a member of the Ontario Psychological Association (OPA) and the American Psychological Association (APA)
• Patricia Fleet, Occupational Therapist has worked with Bayshore Therapy & Rehab since moving to Windsor in 2003 and has been the Manager of Rehab since 2012
• Ann Marie Keough, In 2015, Ann Marie left the hospital setting to begin a career in the community, opening Enable Neurological Rehabilitation
• Dr. Abdalhakim Imohd Mustafa, Neurologist, Chief of the Neuroscience Department at Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital, 2011 – 2012 and 2013. Dr. Mustafa is an Adjunct Professor at Schulich School of Medicine and Neuroscience Department.

We would like to thank the participants, exhibitors and especially the Bronze Sponsors of this conference. BIAWE is a no-profit charitable organization and relies on money received through this social enterprise to fund its ongoing programs.

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Unmasking Brain Injury

On June 7, 2018 at the Art Gallery of Windsor, masks painted by persons with acquired brain injury (ABI) were unveiled.
Read The Windsor Star article – June 25, 2018

Unmasking Brain Injury is an international movement and through the coordination of the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA), Ontario became the first province in Canada to participate. Over 1,400 masks were given to 26 participating brain injury associations and partners across the province.
This project started at Hinds’ Feet Farm in Huntersville, North Carolina to bring awareness to brain injury. The goal is to provide brain injury survivors the opportunity to create their own mask and tell their own story.

The purpose of this project is to:
• To PROMOTE awareness of the prevalence of brain injury
• To GIVE survivors a voice and the means to education others of what it’s like to live with a brain injury
• To SHOW others that persons living with a disability due to their brain injury are like anyone else; deserving of dignity, respect and compassion and the opportunity to prove their value as citizens in their community

Brain injury continues to be misunderstood and is often referred to as the invisible disability. Through this Unmasking Brain Injury project, hundreds of people living with brain injuries are making the invisible visible by unmasking their stories through the artistic display of masks that represent their personal journeys.
Come see this visually powerful and emotional project to raise awareness of ABI and the unique experiences of survivors.

VIDEOS:
Anna Jurak, Director BIAWE  Intro
Brain Injury Awareness through Unmasking Brain Injury I
Brain Injury Awareness through Unmasking Brain Injury II
Unmasking Brain Injury – what the masks represent
What it’s like to live with a brain injury

Masks will be displayed at the following Windsor locations and will travel to the county in July and return to Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare. Check our Facebook page for locations.
Adventure Bay – June 8 to 15, 2018
Capri Recreation Centre – June 15 to 22, 2018
WFCU Centre – June 22 to June 29, 2018
Gino Marcus Centre – June 29 to July 6, 2018
We would like to thank the Rotary Club of Windsor (1918) for financial support of this project.

You too can help by sponsoring a mask. Go to our home page – top right corner – To Donate.