Hospital to host conference on traumatic brain surgery

A Passaic County hospital will host an international conference on traumatic brain surgery to help the growing number of New Jersey soldiers coming home with brain injuries.
St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson is working to get better care for soldiers returning from Iraq, but the current economic crisis is making it more difficult.
The hospital hopes it can convince Congress that more money is needed to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries and to ease the financial burden in caring for people with those injuries.
Jeremy Feldbusch is one patient who could benefit from the conference. In 2003, Feldbusch's unit was attacked in Iraq and pieces of shrapnel were lodged in his brain, severing his optic nerve and causing traumatic injuries, including blindness.
According to neuro-surgeon Dr. Anthony D'Ambrosio, new technology like a tele-medicine system can help patients like Feldbusch receive better care.
Through a tele-medicine system, doctors can conference in other doctors and guide them clinically, but making machines like these available is expensive.
So far, Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-N.J) is backing the hospital's efforts.