Nebraska Brain Injury Conference Provides Brain Injury Education and Connection Opportunities

On March 17 and 18, over 100 people gathered virtually to attend the 2022 Nebraska Brain Injury Conference hosted by the Brain Injury Alliance of Nebraska. The day-and-a-half conference brought together brain injury professionals, caregivers, and individuals with brain injuries to learn about current topics in the field of brain injury and connect with one another.

The conference kicked off with professor and speaker, Dr. Kim Gorgens from the University of Denver, as she shared how brain injury affects sleep and possible solutions for improving sleep after brain injury, then transitioned into her second presentation on the effects of brain injury on women, particularly victims of interpersonal or domestic violence. Dr. Gorgen’s passion shone as she shared her knowledge and provided a brilliant spark to get the conference underway. 

Dr. Gorgens was not alone in her passion, as many other talented speakers,  professionals, and individuals took to the Zoom spotlight to share their expertise and enthusiasm on topics such as concussion and vision, resilience, caregiving, ambiguous loss, COVID-19 as an acquired brain injury, supported decision making, and more. A full list of speakers and presentations can be found here: https://whova.com/embedded/event/biac_202203/?utc_source=ems

Made possible by the contributions of 12 sponsors (a full sponsor list can be found here: https://whova.com/embedded/sponsors/biac_202203/?utc_source=ems), the 2022 Nebraska Brain Injury Conference was a great way to educate oneself about current brain injury topics and connect with the brain injury community at large. 

Over the course of the conference, participants interacted with each other via the Whova event application’s chat and community feature by creating discussion topics, asking questions, sharing articles, and even suggesting meet-ups for either in-person or online. Approximately 28 topics were discussed in Whova’s community feature and attendees shared over 500 messages, showing that connection was still possible despite the lack of in-person interaction. 

Host and Executive Director of the Brain Injury Alliance of Nebraska, Peggy Reisher remarks, “Although this was a virtual event, it was heartwarming to see conference participants sharing insights and ideas via the community forum. We learn so much, not only from the speakers but also from our fellow participants."

The Brain Injury Alliance of Nebraska hopes to continue to grow this event and transition back to an in-person format as COVID-19 concerns allow and is always on the lookout for topic suggestions, speakers, and sponsors. Interested speakers or sponsors can reach out to Brittney Lippincott, Marketing and Special Events Coordinator, at brittney@biane.org or 402-683-0724.