Barbin Bike Tour Draws Attention to Injured Veterans
Rep. Bryan Barbin yesterday kicked off a multi-state motorcycle tour with a noble purpose: making sure veterans with brain injuries receive the best care possible.
More than 100,000 troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq have sustained traumatic brain injuries, but they do not always receive the treatment they deserve. Rep. Barbin is looking to put an end to that, hopping on his motorcycle and making a week-long tour of state capitols, rallying support for his cause.
“Traumatic brain injury is the signature injury of that (Iraq) war,” Rep. Barbin told the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. “Why aren’t we looking at this as our highest priority?”
His trek will take him 1,800 miles through seven states, ending in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
He began yesterday in Upper Yoder Township, at the Johnstown Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, a facility Barbin calls "a model for the nation." The Center helps to prepare veterans with brain injuries to reenter civilian life.
“We have 1 million veterans living in Pennsylvania,” Barbin said. “They have the right to go into our facilities. If the care they receive initially is not given highest priority, we can become overwhelmed at our seven nursing-care facilities.
“Moreover, it is the right thing to do.”
Photograph by Todd Berkey, used with permission of the Tribune-Democrat
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