JOHNSTOWN —
State Rep. Bryan Barbin, D-Johnstown, left town on Monday on a cross-country trek.
He is traveling to raise awareness for blast-related traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Riding his motorcycle, Barbin plans to visit state capitals and veteran facilities all over the country.
“I will visit veteran hospitals and state capitals to promote the recent advances in combating the signature injury facing our combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan,” Barbin said in a press release.
Recently, Barbin sponsored a House resolution that praises the work of two Pennsylvania universities for their brain-injury studies.
The first study is on the high definition fiber tracking tool that has been developed at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Neurological Surgery’s Brain Trauma Research Center.
The tool shows broken neurological pathways caused by blast injuries for the first time.
The second is the March study done at the University of Pennsylvania confirming that the aggressive treatment of traumatic brain injury shows significant improvement in quality of life for soldiers.
The study also shows that aggressive treatment lowers costs of long-term treatment.
Part of this resolution also designates Saturday as “Combat-Related Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day” in Pennsylvania.
According to the resolution, it wishes to “promote public understanding and encourage all resources, national, state, public and private to be used to provide comfort and assistance” to those affected.
“If I can get people to think a little differently, then it’s all worthwhile," Barbin said.
Barbin is a member of the state House Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
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Barbin motorcycle trip promotes brain-injury research
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