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For Professionals
If you are a professional working with individuals who have been impacted by brain injury or stroke, we want to be a resource and a partner. Thank you for the work you do. It is part of our mission that together we can continue to make lives for survivors and caregivers more meaningful and purposeful. We have resources, case consultations, and training available to your organizations and staff to better understand brain injury. If you are interested in someone from the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa coming to provide an in-service for your staff, please contact us at info@biaia.org or 855-444-6443.
Our Iowa Brain Injury Resource Network IBIRN is a statewide network of agencies and professionals who are serving Iowans impacted by brain injury in various ways. These IBIRN partners are helping expand access to resources, information, advocacy and services. If you are interested in becoming an IBIRN partner agency please contact us for more information info@biaia.org or 855-444-6443.
Click here for our latest IBIRN Newsletter
Annual Best Practices in Brain Injury Services Conference – Each Spring
The Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa has hosted a brain injury professional conference for service providers annually for over 25 years, Best Practices in Brain Injury. Starting several years ago, with families and advocates who saw a need for more education and information. We bring expert speakers in to discuss the newest trends in rehab and provider services. This event takes place in the early spring each year. We also host regional conferences and a Concussion Conference annually.
BIAIA is always seeking opportunities to present at other conferences. If your organization hosts a conference and would like someone to speak about brain injury, please contact us at info@biaia.org
Introducing TACT – Teacher Acute Concussion Tool
Brain Injury Screening Tool
Brain injuries are often a multi-occurring condition with mental health, substance abuse, unemployment, corrections involvement and homelessness. Screening for a brain injury is best practice when responding to, and/or planning clinical and community based responses for clients served in health, community, and corrections services. Therefore, the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Governor’s Advisory Council on Brain Injuries has recommended and approved a screening tool for professional use in Iowa. The tool is simple and can be used by providers to assess if an individual may have had a brain injury, though the tool does not provide a diagnosis or indicate an absence of a brain injury. Once completed, if warranted, a referral may be made to the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa for further consultation.
Pediatric Brain Injury Screening Tool & Instructions Forms
Brain Injury Screening Tool Instructions 
Brain Injury Waiver Emergency Needs Assessment is NOW Available!
We are excited to announce that individuals listed on the Brain Injury Waiver waitlist can now apply for prioritization on the waitlist based on emergency and urgent need! Once on the brain injury waiver waitlist, your client will receive a letter in the mail notifying them about the Emergency Need Assessment application. If your client is already on the brain injury waiver waitlist, they should have already received a letter with the information regarding the process and how to apply. We encourage individuals applying for the Brain Injury Waiver Emergency Needs Assessment to include all necessary and pertinent supporting documents in with your application – this looks different for each person as it depends on the needs of that individual. It is up to Iowa Medicaid Enterprise to consider their application for approval. Additionally, individuals who are currently in a Nursing Facility are ineligible to apply for this Brain Injury Waiver Emergency Needs Assessment as they are considered to be getting the level of care that they currently need.
See information letter DHS letter 2080-MC-FFS
Call us if you have any questions about this process and we are happy to help navigate any questions you might have. This application is not a mandatory part of the waiver application process, but is a new option to help Iowans move up the list based on their needs. We encourage you to connect with any/all clients you feel need to fill out this application.
Iowa Code Medicaid and Waiver Services
YouTube Video Resource Library
Here at the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa, we strive to have relevant and informational content for Iowans impacted by brain injury and that includes webinars and other short videos. At our YouTube page, you will find a variety of webinars & short videos pertaining to some of the most inquired topics around brain injury. Some of our most watched videos are on the topics of Domestic Violence and Brain Injury, Anger after Brain Injury, Understanding and Coping with Challenging Behavior, Compensatory Strategies for Cognitive Changes, and Brain Injury Screenings and Assessments.
To access information on a variety of topics related to brain injury, check out our You Tube Library. Please Subscribe!!
Discharge Planning Resources
In an effort to meet the needs of families and discharge planners, we have developed a toolkit designed to provide guidance and resources to better inform the discharge process from the inpatient rehab settings for Iowans with brain injury. The goal of this toolkit is to improve understanding of the unique needs and services in Iowa for persons affected by brain injury.
Discharge Toolkit
Discharge Planning Overview
