WHEREAS, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, with leading causes being slips and falls, motor vehicle accidents, collisions with objects, assaults, and contact sports; and
WHEREAS, TBI is a serious public health epidemic in North Carolina and across our nation, often resulting in long-term or permanent disability or death; and
WHEREAS, TBI is one form of an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) which also includes traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries, strokes, brain aneurysms, brain tumors, brain infections, anoxic brain injury, and non-fatal overdose; and
WHEREAS, an estimated 2.8 million Americans sustain TBI every year; of this number, over 50,000 die and roughly 282,000 are hospitalized; approximately 5.3 million Americans continue to live with a TBI-related disability, and in North Carolina over 80,000 people will sustain a TBI this year, and many survivors will be left permanently disabled; and
WHEREAS, approximately 5.3 million Americans live with a TBI-related disability that may impact how they move and interact with their environment, their communication, processing of emotions, and how they think; and
WHEREAS, active duty and reserve service members are at increased risk for sustaining a TBI compared to their civilian peers, due in part to the specific demographics of the military; in general, young men ages 18 to 24 are at greatest risk for TBI; and
WHEREAS, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 35.2 percent of North Carolina women and 30.3 percent of North Carolina men experience intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes with a common result being TBI; and
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Brain Injury Advisory Council, the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina, and other stakeholders provide awareness, education, prevention, training, and services to North Carolinians living with TBI and other ABI’s, and these services are also provided to their families, health care professionals, and others statewide;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim March, 2024, as “BRAIN INJURY AWARENESS MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.