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Mothers Against Brain Injury, Inc.
445-26 State Rd. 13 North
PMB 424
Fruit Cove, FL 32259
Phone Numbers:
Local (904) 657-1424
24 Hour Toll Free Resource Line 1-800-TBI-HOPE
(1-800-824-4673)
| Email: General Inquiries: contact@mabii.org Submission of Letters: letters@mabii.org Fundraising: fundraising@mabii.org |
Meet Our Board
Tracy East-Porter |
Dr. Joseph Tepas |
Betty Torres |
Tracy East-Porter
Executive Director/Founder
Mrs. Porter founded the organization after her 16 year old son suffered a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in an auto accident in April 2004. Having been through the experience with her family and not having any previous knowledge about this preventable injury, she educated herself and then focused her attention on helping others through the experience by developing a unique and compassionate tote bag distribution program. The ongoing mission is to provide families of a Traumatic Brain Injured patient with basic toiletry and comfort items, useful tools and valuable information within 48 hours of admittance to Level I, II and Pediatric Trauma Centers participating in the tote bag program.Dr. Joseph Tepas
III Director
Dr. Tepas is the Director of Pediatric Trauma at the University of Florida’s Regional Trauma System. He is Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Florida, College of Medicine, and is certified by the American Board of Surgery in the specialties of Pediatric Surgery, Surgical Critical Care, and General Surgery.Dr. Tepas was the Principal Investigator for the State of Florida's Emergency Medical Services for Children federal demonstration project. His major research efforts have focused on care of the injured child and have resulted in his appointment to numerous national and regional committees. He is a member of the State of Florida Emergency Medical Services Trauma System Task Force, and has been a contributing author for numerous reports to the Governor and Florida Legislature regarding all aspects of emergency and trauma care.
Dr. Tepas serves on the Executive Committee of the Florida Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons and is past chairman of the American College of Surgeons Quality Improvement Subcommittee. His notable previous appointments include membership on the Trauma Outcome Indicator Task Force of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and contributing author of the Institute of Medicine's report to Congress regarding Emergency Medical Services for Children.
Dr Tepas' recent national activities include authorship of the performance improvement section of the American College of Surgeons Optimal Resources Document and revision of the pediatric trauma sections of the Advanced Pediatric Life Support, Advanced Trauma Life Support, and Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support courses. He is a member of the numerous editorial boards of peer review scientific journals, and is the author of 82 peer-reviewed publications, 24 books or book chapters, and 165 national presentations.
Dr. Tepas has served as one of the principal investigators of the NPTR. He was Principal Investigator of a grant from the State of Florida Department of Health demonstrating the feasibility of a web based trauma registry to facilitate outcomes assessment and performance improvement.
Betty Torres
Director
Betty joined the Law Offices of Toral Garcia Pineyro & Franz in 2005 where she coordinates Public Relations matters, including but not limited to, conference sponsorships, advertising, press releases and managing the firm’s website. Betty also serves as a liaison between the law firm, clients, their families and healthcare providers by guiding the firm’s clients who have suffered a brain and/or spinal cord injury through the continuum of care and linking them and their families to community programs when appropriate. Betty educates clients and their families on organizations such as Brain Injury Association of Florida and state agencies such as Children's Medical Services and Brain & Spinal Cord Injury Program which provide helpful literature specific to brain & spinal cord injury, information on support groups and various family support services.Since 1999, Betty has served as Sponsor Chair on the Brain Injury Association of Florida, Inc. (BIAF) Professional Conference Committee. She serves on the Board of Directors for Mothers Against Brain Injury, Inc and she is a member of the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Pediatric Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program Advisory Board, as well as, BIAF’s Annual Fundraiser Committee (A Night in the Tropics).
Betty serves as an advocate to clients by ensuring appropriate rehabilitation services are being provided. She also facilitates communication between clients, their families and medical providers which often take the form of case management meetings where referrals to rehabilitation providers and discharge planning options are discussed. She serves as a Spanish translator for families when meeting with physicians, nurses and rehabilitation providers and transports them to necessary outpatient medical appointments until the client can be linked to permanent community transit.
Betty joined Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation (FINR) in 1999 as an Area Manager where, for the following six years, she assisted the Admissions Department to qualify and process referrals, provided educational and resource information to families and referral sources, coordinated clinical seminars for trauma hospitals, conducted educational in-services on the topic of brain and spinal cord injury for professionals in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities and represented FINR at professional conferences nationwide.
Frank Toral
Professional Advisory Committee
Frank Toral is the managing partner of Toral, Garcia, Pineyro & Franz. Prior to founding his law firm in 1995, Frank Toral served as Assistant State Attorney, working in the office of the Broward County State Attorney from 1992-1993, where he tried more than 50 jury trials and had a great deal of direct contact with individuals who had been injured due to the negligence of others.Mr. Toral's affiliations include: President, Brain Injury Association of Florida Board of Directors; Member, University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Pediatric Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Advisory Board; Member, Mothers Against Brain Injury Board of Directors.
His professional associations include: Eagle Member, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Broward County Bar Association; Cuban American Bar Association, Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Guest speaker at Educational Conference hosted by HEALTHSOUTH & Florida Institute for Neurological Rehabilitation, Inc.; Educational speaker, Broward Association of Rehab Nurses ; Co-sponsor and educational speaker, Florida Healthcare Social Workers Association; Co-sponsor and speaker, Pediatric Neurotrauma Conference; Featured speaker: Brain Injury Association of Florida annual conference. Harvard Business School: Executive Education - Leading Professional Service Firms.
Mr. Toral chairs the planning committee for A Night in the Tropics, an annual fundraising event that benefits the Brain Injury Association of Florida. He is a proud sponsor of Mothers Against Brain Injury, Inc. and also continues to be actively involved with Flamingo Road Church.
Mr. Toral is admitted to practice by the Florida Bar, United States District Court for the South District of Florida.
