PeachTree Health Group partners with Brain Injury Association
Brain Injury Association of Delaware and PeachTree Health Group are two unique organizations in Delaware. Born out of the same need – to provide families and friends with resources to better care for loved ones who experienced a traumatic brain injury or an acquired brain injury – the two entities' paths were bound to cross.
The budding partnership comes at a time when, according to preliminary data from the Delaware Health Information Network, there were an estimated 9,606 TBIs in 2020 and a total of 64,835 people living with TBIs in the state. Cheryl Doucette, executive director of BIADE, along with BIADE board member Dee Rivard, brought survivor masks to PeachTree Acres April 5 during a tour of the Harbeson campus. Rivard also serves as TBI administrator for the State Council for Persons with Disabilities.
According to Rivard, people with a TBI may have a hard time finding the correct treatment for their injury. Doucette believes a major reason for the difficulty is a lack of awareness that resources such as BIADE and the state’s Brain Injury Fund can provide.
“Our partnership with PeachTree really allows us to meet the needs of our survivors, share information and really expand our network with our survivors,” Doucette said of the new arrangement.
In an effort to better connect with survivors, BIADE has revamped its website, biade.org, to become a hub for all brain injuries in Delaware. In addition to information on various support groups that meet locally, the website also links to the national website for the Brain Injury Association of America. Under the legislative action tab, visitors can sign a petition asking members of Congress to join the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force.
“Our mission is to advocate for the policies, laws, rules, regulations or anything that will affect a person with disabilities, and make sure those laws are right,” Rivard said. “Right now, we’re looking into trying to increase facilities here in Delaware that provide services to persons with brain injuries.”
Doucette said after a year of hard work in 2021, BIADE is aggressively moving forward in 2022 to raise funds and form partnerships with facilities like PeachTree so they can fully focus on advocacy in 2023. Workshops, like BIADE’s 2020 educational conference where the masks were made, are exactly the type of events the organization is looking to host for brain injury survivors. Masks were painted, some by current residents of PeachTree, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the country, so there was excitement surrounding their recent arrival.
Painting masks is a way for survivors to express how their unique TBI makes them feel. No two brain injuries are alike, and the masks highlight various journeys each person is experiencing. Frustration, with both the injury and the progress of treatment, can surface during a survivor’s daily routine. Patience in care is a necessity, and expressing the natural emotions that accompany the pain being felt throughout the rehabilitation process, such as by painting the masks, can be an effective coping mechanism.
“I think one of the beautiful things about the masks is it really sums up exactly how they’re feeling inside,” said Jessica Walker, director of admissions and marketing at PeachTree Health Group. “Sometimes, especially with the brain-injured population, they have trouble communicating their feelings, so I think it really gave a beautiful visual of how they’re feeling inside.”
Walker led a tour of the two buildings comprising the PeachTree campus, explaining how the facility is run and the daily lives of residents. Currently, 43 people live in two buildings, and the state-of-the-art facilities are designed to give residents their desired level of independence. Some rooms feature mini-kitchens without the stoves; one room has several well-kept plants, and another has been set up similar to a dormitory. A laundry room is also on site, allowing residents to do as much of the process as they believe they can handle. Independence is strongly encouraged, but several amenities are in place to assist survivors.
PeachTree Administrator Kyle Whelan said it would be great for BIADE to utilize the facilities.
As the tour concluded, masks were distributed by Doucette and Rivard so they could be displayed in the lobby of the newest facility on campus. Some masks were brightly colored, while others had darker hues of paint brushed across their curves. One survivor had taken several colors together and painted the angst they were feeling, while some painted the exact spot of their injury. One mask, drawn and painted by PeachTree resident Gregory C., depicts the struggles unique to his injury. Gregory also has hand drawings hanging outside his room.
The masks will be on display at PeachTree’s campus, 26890-26900 Lewes-Georgetown Highway, Harbeson. For more information about PeachTree, contact Cindy Broschart at 302-684-4002 or email Cbroschart@peachtreehg.com.
For more information on BIADE, go to biade.org, email admin@biade.org, or call 302-346-2083.
Anyone wishing to speak with Dee Rivard, TBI administrator for SCPD, may call her direct line at 302-257-3614. More information is also available at scpd.delaware.gov.
