Updated 03/02/2009 03:58 PM
Brain injury awareness month
JEFFERSON COUNTY, N.Y. -- March is brain injury awareness month and a new center in Jefferson County is helping make sure people can get treatment close to home.
The New York Institute of Brain Injury in Carthage has started seeing its first patients. The center offers a variety of programs aimed at getting people back to a normal routine in their community. It is the first of its kind in the area, allowing people to avoid long, expensive trips for their care.
The center has also begun using a tele-communication system where patients can get care from doctors all over the county. The center hopes to get a smaller version of the machine to allow patients to use it at home as well.
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"Where they can be face to face with a doctoral level PhD five or six hours away and perform the therapy in their homes that they can't normally get up here because of the lack of professional staff," said New York Institute of Brain Injury CEO David McCoy.
The center has hired five full time staff members and expects to add about 22 more employees in the coming months.