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An audience member asks a question during a panel at this year's Arkansas Trauma Rehabilitation Symposium. More than 200 people attended the all-day event in Benton.
Image by Benjamin Waldrum
Trauma Rehabilitation Symposium Draws Hundreds, Celebrates Successes
| More than 200 health care professionals, social workers and case managers recently gathered in Benton for the Arkansas Trauma Rehabilitation Symposium. This year’s theme, “Pay It Forward,” focused on empowering providers and improving outcomes for trauma survivors.
This year’s symposium, held at the Benton Event Center, drew a large crowd.Benjamin Waldrum
The UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation’s Brain Injury Program hosted the Sept. 19 event at the Benton Event Center, which featured several speakers. An adjacent area for exhibitors and sponsors offered resources on care, mental health and assistive devices. Attendees took part in a blood drive and walked through an inflatable Mega Brain showing how stroke and stroke symptoms damage brain tissue. Several student presentations were on display showcasing reports on occupational therapy and traumatic brain injury, among others.
“The 2025 Arkansas Trauma Rehabilitation Symposium was our most successful yet, with a record 30 exhibitors and 272 registered attendees,” said Brandi Dawson, M.S., health educator with the Brain Injury Program. “Our theme, Pay It Forward, truly came to life — from the incredible sessions to the blood drive with Our Blood Institute, where we surpassed our donation goal. I am so proud of the hard work the Brain Injury Program team put into making this possible, and deeply grateful to everyone who joined us.”
D. Micah Hester, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics in the UAMS College of Medicine, (left), speaks during a panel at the symposium.Benjamin Waldrum
Daniel Bercher, Ph.D., director of operations for the Brain Injury Program, served as emcee and shared several recent successes. Highlights included, in partnership with the Brain Injury Association of Arkansas, a “brain injury hill day” speaking with legislators at the Arkansas State Capitol in the spring, and the eventual passage of Act 348, which requires health benefits plans to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment related to an acquired brain injury.
Bercher also shared some big news: after a long application process, the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) will hold its State of the States in Brain Injury Conference in Little Rock next fall. The conference brings together state leaders, advocacy organizations, researchers and providers to discuss brain injury care and treatment.
“We’re very excited to welcome NASHIA to Little Rock next year,” Bercher said. “We are going to have experts from all over the country coming here. These are people who know how to take care of brain injuries, and they are going to be a wealth of information to us.”
“NASHIA’s excited to bring our national conference to Little Rock,” said Haleigh Cushen, the association’s director of program management. “The Brain Injury Program is doing some great things nationally and becoming leaders in the brain injury community, and we’re excited to showcase the work that they’re doing and increase awareness of brain injury in the region.”
Caring for trauma survivors can be complex, including physical and mental rehabilitation, patient caregiving and advocacy, as well as combating stigmas and other challenges. Speakers covered these and other topics, including post-injury recovery and assistive technology in pediatrics.
Daniel Bercher, Ph.D., (center, with plaque) poses with members of the Brain Injury Team after being honored for his years of service to UAMS.Benjamin Waldrum
Eddie Williams, RN, assistant director for the Brain Injury Program, moderated a five-person panel of experts who discussed the challenges in determining how much support trauma survivors need in the days, weeks and months following their injury. The hour-long panel opened to questions from the audience, including several survivors who received applause.
There was also a small recognition for Bercher, who is retiring this year. He was presented with a plaque and a framed edition of a selection from “The Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley, about a child who diligently works to place beached starfish back in the ocean. The story is often seen as a metaphor for dedication to solving problems, no matter the obstacles.
“I’ve been at UAMS for 31 years, but the last seven years have been an awesome time with this team,” Bercher said. “I appreciate these guys in particular and you guys in this room, because that’s where this kind of work translates. Let’s get those starfish back in the ocean.”
Jeff Glasbrenner gestures to his prosthetic leg during the afternoon keynote address.Benjamin Waldrum
Two keynote speakers, Yelena G. Bodien, Ph.D., and Jeff Glasbrenner, focused on both the clinical and deeply personal stories that come with traumatic injury. Bodein, a clinical neuroscientist and assistant professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Division of Acute Care Surgery, delivered a lecture outlining the history of how patients with disorders of consciousness are diagnosed and treated. Glasbrenner, a Paralympian, wheelchair basketball world champion and the first American amputee to summit Mount Everest, shared his personal journey of “not playing it safe” after losing his right leg below the knee as a child.
“Bad days can and do happen all the time,” Glasbrenner said. “It’s not really the bad day, but it’s how you respond to that bad day that really defines who you are and what you become. I believe everything happens for a reason, but I also think it’s important never to let others place limits on you — or more importantly, never place limits on yourself.”