Connecticut’s Partner in brain injury prevention and recovery for over 35 years.

Brain Injury Alliance of Connecticut Resources Upgrades to Support Client Independence

Each year more than 3.5 million Americans will sustain a brain injury, which is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. As the number of brain injury survivors struggling toward recovery rises, critical information about brain injury – imperative to their independence – is becoming more difficult to provide.

The Department of Social Services (DSS) recognizes that timely and up-to-date information about brain injury is not only essential to the success of brain injury survivors, but to the prevention of brain injury as well. As DSS is unable to offer these services, they have contracted with the Brain Injury Alliance of Connecticut (BIAC) for over 30 years to provide them. 

One avenue through which BIAC delivers information to clients on behalf of DSS is our toll-free HelpLine. We provide survivors and caregivers, with valuable connections to community resources, help them move toward full-inclusion in community life and independent living. BIAC’s clients include professionals looking for accurate and current information about brain injury and its signs and symptoms.  These professionals go on to use the information provided by BIAC to promote the success of survivors under their care.

At the same time that the overall need for brain injury information has increased, the information technology BIAC relied on had deteriorated greatly.  The OPM Nonprofit Grant was truly instrumental in significantly improving BIAC’s ability to serve the community.

1. The grant provided these important upgrades:
   Phone System Upgrade: A dated system compromised our ability to fulfill our basic missions.  An upgrade to a Voice-over IP system stabilized accessibility to staff and includes the ability for urgent calls to the HelpLine to be answered offsite during inclement weather, a time of great vulnerability for survivors.
2. Computer Upgrades: Dated computers were working at a memory capacity which did not meet our needs. Additionally, the machine’s current processors were not sufficient. We were able to replace them with new desktops.  Additionally, with the addition of new laptop computers, we have been able to more efficiently meet the needs of clients in a timely manner, regardless of staff location. 
3. Server Upgrades: Our old server had a very unstable back-up system with no provisions for offsite storage. If we suffered a catastrophic loss of data, it would greatly compromise our ability to serve callers as we store the bulk of our brain injury resources electronically. BIAC was able to purchase a new server and storage was moved to an offsite location.
4. Printer Upgrade: Our decade old printer was unreliable at best. We spent a tremendous amount of time and energy troubleshooting our printing issues on a regular basis.  We were able to purchase a new office printer/copier/fax unit that performs the same functions of our current model with greater speed and far greater reliability.

Outdated and inefficient technology adds to the length of time required to meet each of our clients’ needs. Each client, be they brain injury survivors, caregivers, professionals in the brain injury community or parents and educators looking for prevention education, now receive faster, more timely support in their quest to regain or maintain their independence with the upgrade of technologies that support the BIAC staff. On behalf of the thousands of Connecticut residents BIAC serves each year, thank you to the Nonprofit Grant Program, because none of this would have been possible without you.