Alan Quasha and The Brain Trauma Foundation

Alan Quasha first became involved with the Brain Trauma Foundation when his young son went into a coma due to a traumatic brain injury, or TBI. Through this experience Quasha learned firsthand the difficult impact TBI could have on the emotional and financial well-being of families. Asked to become the chairman of the Brain Trauma Foundation Quasha learned how this amazing organization was able to make huge changes as to how TBI is treated not only just in the United States but also throughout the world.

Becoming active in this organization Alan Quasha learned much about how to be a successful organization, and he would love for other organizations to also learn these lessons. For instance, an organization does not have to be large to make significant changes. As Alan Quasha explains,

“In today’s world, creating virtual organizations makes a lot of sense. We come up with the overall framework and collaborate with the best neurosurgeons and brain researchers in the world. We go out and lead efforts and then we look for major problems. Our approach to medicine is that processes should be evidence-based, so that practices and procedures work. Ultimately, we came up with evidence-based guidelines, which have now been adopted by all the surgeons who operate, as well as the authorities.”

One study done in Eastern Europe showed that if the Brain Trauma Foundation guidelines would be adopted then you would save the lives of about half the people who have TBI. At the Brain Trauma Foundation the only acceptable outcome is when the person recovers and can go back to a full, healthy and productive life, which is exactly what happened with Alan Quasha’s son.