The Queensland Brain Injury Collaborative (QBIC) takes the brain injury roadshow to Cairns

In October 2024, the Queensland Brain Injury Collaborative (QBIC), in partnership with the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ), welcomed more than 100 health professionals and community members to the brain injury roadshow event in Cairns.

QBIC Director Associate Professor Fatima Nasrallah said QBIC aimed to build a network of research, healthcare, community and industry partners to encourage better collaboration and pave the way to better care for acquired brain injury patients.  

“The roadshow event in Cairns is one of a series of events that will take place through rural, regional, and remote Queensland to share insights and expertise about brain injury,” Associate Professor Nasrallah said.   

The first event held in Cairns was an information session, Brain Injury: From Critical Care to Community, for general practitioners to share insights and network with brain injury specialists. At this session, speakers offered their approaches to navigating the complexities of brain injury care with more than 50 local healthcare professionals.

   Our speakers and the topics they covered included:

• Dr Richard Mooney, Cairns ICU intensivist on 'ICU Insights: Critical Care
  Perspectives in Cairns '.
• Dr Wei Qu , Cairns Hospital Rehabilitation Unit on 'Pathway to recovery:
  Inpatient care in Cairns '.
• Dr Reema Taha, Ramsay Health Care on 'Back to Life: Rehabilitation for Community Integration and Support'.
• Jason Redhead, Royal Rehab on 'Royal Rehab: Pioneering Rehabilitation Services '.
• Dr Jane Chin, Total Optical on 'Brain injury and Visual Problems'.
• Basil Mantzioris, Psychiatrist on 'Integrating Mental Health Services into Brain Injury care' 

The second event in Cairns was a free community information session, Empowering the Community: Navigating Life After Brain Injury.’  More than 50 locals living with a brain injury, their carers, and local experts joined this session. Mia Parlapiano courageously shared her lived experience of brain injury, while others shared their observations from treating people living with traumatic brain injury.

Our speakers and the topics they covered included:

Mia Parlapiano, a person with a lived experience on 'Living with a traumatic brain injury'.

Suzanne Wright, STEPS Program on 'Building networks of support after ABI'.

Genevieve Lee, Director - Participant Care, The NIISQ Agency on 'Developing a meaningful plan and goals after a traumatic brain injury'.

Margaret McDonald, Regional Manager - Queensland North, Spinal Life Australia on 'Rehabilitation and Integration: Services by Spinal Life Australia'.

Adam Schickerling, National Director - Strategy & Engagement, Synapse | Australia's Brain Injury Organisation on 'Brain injury and vulnerability'.

We thank each speaker for their time and willingness to share their knowledge at our during these brain injury sessions. We look forward to returning to Cairns to reinforce these relationships and explore opportunities for collaboration with these valuable networks.

For further information about the sessions, please email QBIC.