1. Richardson, R., McCarthy, M., McGarity, S., Massengale, J., Levie, K., Boyce, J., Kretzmer, T.,
Donnell, A., & Critchfield, E. (2011). The James A Haley TBI Model System Program. Poster
accepted for presentation at VA Research Day, James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital, Tampa,
Florida, April 26th
, 2012.
The majority of trauma-related deaths is due to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recent estimates
indicate that 80,000 to 90,000 have a new onset of disability each year due to TBI (Thurman et
al., 1999a). More than a million Americans to live with disability due to TBI (Thurman et al.,
1999b). While the emotional cost of TBI is incalculable, the lifetime cost for persons who
sustain TBI each year is estimated to be 37 billion dollars (Max, MacKenzie, & Rice, 1991). At
this time, the physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments remain a challenge to the VA
Healthcare system.
The Veterans Affairs Central Office has developed an inter-agency agreement with the
U.S. Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation and Research
(NIDRR) TBI Model System Program to manage a database of variables associated with injury
severity and outcomes associated with the longitudinal recovery course associated with TBI for
persons in the VA health care system. Among many uses, the primary purpose of this data will
be used to gauge performance of VA PRC inpatient rehabilitation programs relative to the
private sector TBI inpatient rehabilitation programs part of the TBI Model Systems Programs.
The TBI Model System Program is a competitively funded, longitudinal multi-center study
which examines the course of recovery and outcomes following the delivery of a coordinated
system of acute neurotrauma and inpatient rehabilitation in the private sector. Currently, the
TBIMS program has documented outcomes for persons up to 15 years post injury.
Approximately 8, 000 persons with TBI having undergone inpatient rehabilitation are being
tracked in the TBI Model System Program. The knowledge and expertise of this competitively
funded system is being adapted for characterization and monitoring of outcomes for persons with
TBI treated in the VA Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center (VA PRC) health care system.
Knowledge gained from systematic comparison of VA TBI Model System programs with private
sector TBI Model System programs will help develop benchmarks for program improvement
within the VA PRC health care system. Finally, data collected will be used to supplement
investigator-initiated studies of TBI within the VA PRC health care system.