I am deeply concerned with Gov. John Baldacci’s proposed Medicaid cuts that eliminate brain-injury services to adults.

I have worked in rehabilitation in Maine for about 29 years as a social worker serving the developmentally disabled, mentally ill and learning- disabled population, and as a nationally certified disability management specialist serving injured workers, veterans and individuals seriously injured in accidents. During many of those years, I worked as an administrator of a national injury management company. Throughout that time, I have encountered many individuals with brain injuries, and I am knowledgeable of how devastating a brain injury can be to an individual and his family.

Without a rehabilitation program that addresses all of the physical, cognitive and emotional needs of the brain-injured individual, there is little hope of recovery. It is imperative that these individuals have the benefit of a high-quality, cost-effective rehabilitation program with all the necessary clinical therapies to recover and return to a meaningful, productive life in the community with a strong sense of dignity. Without this support, these individuals experience feelings of hopelessness, loss and not belonging. Their families and caregivers often face insurmountable decisions about their futures with no support to care for them at home and in the community. Individuals with brain injuries can end up in crisis which can result in institutionalization, and even jail time, which increases costs to the Maine taxpayers.

Statistics provided by the Brain Injury Association of Maine review the financial implications of brain injury. The cost of brain injury in the United States alone is approximately $48 billion annually. Brain injury accounts for more years of lost productivity than any other injury. Every dollar invested in brain-injury rehabilitation saves up to $35 in future medical costs.

I believe that it is our ethical responsibility in Maine to continue to provide comprehensive brain-injury services. These community services have only been available since 1989, and those individuals who have had the benefit of these services have made impressive gains and have the opportunity to live in the community and to experience and cherish the same things that we do. I ask that the Maine Legislature give this proposed cut serious consideration, and consider the impact that it would have on individuals with brain injuries.

We live in a state where we have witnessed impressive gains made by individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness as a result of providing necessary services. Why would we even consider excluding individuals with brain injuries from receiving the services that would empower them to make the same impressive gains? It is my hope that the Legislature will take time to more seriously evaluate the impact of this proposed cut, and consider the opportunity to work with the experienced and committed professionals in this field in a spirit of cooperation to collaborate and build together a rehabilitation program that we can all be proud of.

Pamela Colson Power, CDMS is director of Marketing and Community Relations for the Maine Center for Integrated Rehabilitation.