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Brain Injury

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has published responses to questions brought up at the Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting held on February 5, 2025.

The highlights include:

  • All consumer questions about the specifics of the Assisted Living In Lieu of Services should be addressed to the MCOs.
  • The information about Personal Needs Allowance in Personal Care Homes has been corrected. “SSI recipients will receive a PNA deduction of $52.10 ($30 SSI plus the individual state supplement of $22.10).”
  • Any organization who is interested in participating in the Direct Care Worker Quality Grant should contact Abigail Peslis, Director of Penn State Harrisburg Continuing Education.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) recently released the results and highlights from their first public opinion survey in over 25 years.

Some of the key findings from the results of the survey include:

  • Brain injury affects nearly 4 in 10 people, but fewer than 1 in 4 are asked about brain injury by healthcare providers.
  • While most adults claim to be familiar with concussions, their knowledge about brain injury is mixed.
  • Brain injury is seen by most people as a chronic health condition but not as an invisible or hidden disability.
  • More than 8 in 10 (81%) adults in the U.S. do not recognize concussions as traumatic brain injuries.

The Harris Poll conducted the online survey on behalf of the Brain Injury Association of America February 4 – 6, 2025, and polled nearly 2,100 U.S. adults to measure public opinions about and familiarity with brain injuries.

Part 1: Motivational Interviewing in Pediatric Therapy
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT; 10:00 am – 11:00 am CDT;
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT; 8:00 am – 9:00 am PDT
Register Here

Part 2: Beyond Motivational Interviewing: Additional Strategies to Improve Engagement in Pediatric Therapy
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT; 10:00 am – 11:00 am CDT;
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT; 8:00 am – 9:00 am PDT
Register Here

Presenter Bios:

Alison Heinekamp, MOT, OTR/L, CBIS
Alison Heinekamp is an Occupational Therapist and certified brain injury specialist. She currently works as an inpatient occupational therapist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center practicing in the areas of neurology/neurosurgery and pulmonology. Ali serves on the disorders of consciousness subcommittee of the Ohio Brain Injury Program. She has presented both locally and nationally on topics related to best occupational therapy practices in pediatric brain injury and motivational interviewing in pediatrics.

Heather Blackburn, PT, MPT, CBIS
Heather Blackburn is a pediatric physical therapist who specializes in neuro-rehabilitation, serial casting, and treating children with cerebral palsy and acquired brain injuries. She has presented at OPTA, OPC, Ohio Brain Injury Association, APTA Peds Annual Conference, and AACPDM Annual Conferences on her evidence-based practice work in the areas of serial casting, pediatric brain injury treatment, and aquatic therapy. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist and the leader of the Moderate-Severe Brain Injury Translational Research and Clinical Knowledge Team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Heather holds a Masters in Physical Therapy from Ohio University and was LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) certified through Ohio State University.

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will be able to:

PART 1

  • Define self-management and describe motivational interviewing (MI) skills;
  • Apply MI strategies to facilitate meaningful conversations with patients and/or caregivers to maximize collaboration; and
  • Apply MI strategies to improve participation in therapy sessions to maximize outcomes.

PART 2

  • Describe the clinician’s role in improving child/adolescent’s participation with collaborative goal setting; and
  • Identify strategies to improve patient engagement with therapy evaluations, treatment sessions, and home exercise programs.

Audience: This webinar series is intended for all interested members of the rehabilitation team.

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Complimentary webinars are a benefit of membership in IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today.

Get in on the action and network with providers by sponsoring, exhibiting, and advertising at the 2025 Annual Conference Striving to Thrive September 9 – 12 at Hershey Lodge. The event is a highlight for the Pennsylvania behavioral health, brain injury, children’s, intellectual and developmental disabilities, medical rehabilitation, and physical disabilities and aging provider communities. This year’s event features new opportunities to participate. Booth self-selection will also be available for exhibitors and exhibiting sponsors. In order to be considered for self-selection, a completed contract with payment must be submitted.

Network and Compete in Connections Hall
Connections Hall activities take place during the two busiest days of the conference, and many networking opportunities are available throughout the event. You’ll also be able to compete and have a chance to win “Best of Show!”

Exciting New Sponsorship Opportunities
RCPA is privileged to have the backing of the finest organizations in the field for our conference. Through the use of sponsorship circles, RCPA is able to honor all supporting organizations.

Sign Up Now!
Sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, the mobile app, and in the conference program must submit all materials by August 20.

The association looks forward to welcoming you at the conference! Space and opportunities are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

Photo by Kane Reinholdtsen on Unsplash

Message from Representative Dan Miller’s Office: 

Supporting and defending Medicaid funding to our Commonwealth has always been a top priority of mine, and this week we’re having a press conference to discuss the potential impact that Federal cuts to Medicaid may have on our most vulnerable populations.

Joining me will be U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio and Summer Lee, other state lawmakers, and Allegheny County officials to highlight why defending Medicaid is imperative. We will also hear from self-advocates who would be directly impacted by Medicaid changes.

The loss of Federal funding to states would be devasting for the more than 3 million Pennsylvanians who are enrolled in Medicaid. Medicaid also pays for 30% of Medicare. Those that depend on its supports and services, include:

  • Seniors
  • Low-income families and individuals
  • People with disabilities
  • Pregnant women and children, and many more.

The news conference will be held at 10:15 am Friday, February 28, at the Portico of the City-County Building, 414 Grant St., Pittsburgh.

We’ll also be joined by state Reps. Dan Frankel, Emily Kinkead, Jess Benham, Lindsay Powell, Aerion Abney, La’Tasha D. Mayes and Arvind Venkat; state Sens. Jay Costa, Wayne Fontana, Lindsey Williams and Nick Pisciottano; Mayor Ed Gainey; Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor; Pittsburgh Councilwoman Erika Strassburger; and the offices of County Executive Sara Innamorato and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.

There is a lot to be discussed, and everyone is welcome to join us this Friday at 10:15 am at the Portico of the City-County Building located at 414 Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh.

As always, if you have questions about this event or any state-related matter, please contact our office at 412-343-3870 or [email protected].

Pennsylvania State Capitol
109 Irvis Office Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 783-1850
District Office
650 Washington Rd., Suite 102
Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228
(412) 343-3870

Monday, March 3, 2025
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST; 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CST;

10:00 am – 11:00 am MST; 9:00 am – 10:00 am PST
Register Here

Tiffany Prince-Kandrakota, PT, DPT, MSHQS

Presenter Bio:

Tiffany Prince-Kandrakota is a physical therapist with more than 20 years of experience. Her career has included clinical work as well as progressive leadership responsibilities in multiple large health systems in the Philadelphia area. In this time, she found a passion for the quality of the care that was being provided, which drove her to return to school for a Masters in Healthcare Quality and Safety. She currently works as the Rehabilitation Quality Improvement Coordinator at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Objectives: At the end of this session, the learner will:

  • Define quality improvement in healthcare.
  • Why quality? And how do we achieve it?
  • Understand the steps in the Model for Improvement.
  • Understand the tools available for quality improvement work.
  • Discuss using data to drive quality improvement.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all interested members of the rehabilitation team.

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Complimentary webinars are a benefit of membership in IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today.

This Drexel University training will be held March 20, 2025, from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm, and will take place at the Holiday Inn Grantville. The training fee is $15 to attend and $45 for CEs/attendance. The course will be led by Chris Owens, MA, LPC, CCTP.

This course focuses on specific interventions of use to the professional helper when providing therapeutic services in behavioral healthcare. The aim of this workshop is to add to the helper’s “bag of tricks” or “toolkit” pertaining to assisting people with histories of trauma. Participants engage in didactic and experiential learning related to several specific interventions geared toward managing and moving beyond trauma. Participants also dialogue in small groups to share creative and effective interventions they have used in their various practice settings.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

  • Summarize the general purposes of interventions;
  • Discuss having a sound rationale for using various techniques;
  • Describe the benefits associated with each strategy;
  • Outline the drawbacks and barriers to using selected interventions; and
  • Implement each intervention as relevant to one’s own professional practice.

CE Credits:

  • APA — 5
  • CPRP — 5
  • LSW/LCSW/LPC/LMFT — 5
  • NBCC — 5
  • PA Act48 — 5
  • PCB — 5
  • PSNA — 5
  • IACET —.5

Please visit here for additional information.