About the TBI Model System in the U.S.
In 1987, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the United States Department of Education, authorized the establishment of a research and demonstration program which established model systems of care for person with traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The Model Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) System program, sponsored by NIDRR Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, supports innovative projects and research in the delivery, demonstration, and evaluation of medical, rehabilitation, vocational and other services to meet the needs of individuals with traumatic brain injury. NIDRR awards Model TBI System grants to institutions that are national leaders in medical research and patient care and provide the highest level of comprehensive specialty services, from the point of injury through rehabilitation and re-entry into full community life. The University of Washington TBI Model System provides a comprehensive, integrated continuum of services to persons with acute and chronic TBI to a five-state area through its facilities at Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington Medical Center.
Objectives of the TBI Model System programs are as follows: (1) Demonstrate and evaluate the cost-benefit and service delivery outcomes of a comprehensive service delivery system for individuals with TBI; (2) Establish a research program to evaluate the development of a new database and conduct innovative analyses of research data; (3) Demonstrate and evaluate the development and application of improved and innovative methods essential to the care and rehabilitation of individuals with TBI; and (4) Participate in national studies of the TBI Model System concept by contributing to a national TBI database as prescribed by the Secretary of Education.
The model system of care provides a comprehensive, coordinated system of care for persons with traumatic brain injuries. The essential clinical components of a model system are: (1) Emergency Medical Services; (2) Acute neurosurgical and rehabilitative care in a trauma center environment; (3) Comprehensive rehabilitation services in an inpatient TBI rehabilitation unit; (4) Long-term interdisciplinary follow-up and outpatient rehabilitation services.
The Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Data and Statistical Center (TBINDSC) located at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, is a central resource for researchers and data collectors within the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS) program. The primary purpose of the TBINDSC is to advance medical rehabilitation by increasing the rigor and efficiency of scientific efforts to longitudinally assess the experience of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The TBINDSC provides technical assistance, training, and methodological consultation to 16 TBIMS centers as they collect and analyze longitudinal data from people with TBI in their communities, and as they conduct research toward evidence-based TBI rehabilitation interventions.