Family members of catastrophic brain injury survivors won’t have time to be choosy about where their loved one is take, but they can rest assured that they’ll be taken to a hospital that has the experience and ability to handle the acute phase of brain injury.

If you or your loved one’s accident involves an emergency response team—the group that arrives upon the scene of the accident—the main goal of that team will be to get the brain injured person to the nearest Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program (BSCIP) designated facility. A brain-injured individual who drives himself to a hospital that is not BSCIP-designated, or is driven there by a friend or family member, will be transferred to a BSCIP-designated hospital as soon as possible if the injury warrants it.

BSCIP-designated hospitals must meet certain standards and criteria set for by the Department of Health, and must also be approved by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Any hospital that has been designated with the BSCIP label has the experience, personnel, and equipment necessary to see that the patient receives the best care possible. BSCIP-designated facilities are located throughout the country, in a pattern that ensures that every person who sustains a brain injury is able to reach one in a reasonable amount of time.