Welcoming New Team Members to Plus One

President Thomas Lehrich Welcomes New Members.

This summer we are thrilled to welcome new team members whose skills, passion, and dedication will help us continue our mission.

Meet Our New Team Members
We’re excited to introduce:

• Hannah Handal, Development Officer – Hannah joins us with expertise in donor engagement and fundraising, ready to help us expand our reach and deepen our impact.

• Joanna Fernando, Office Manager – Joanna brings strong organizational skills, a passion for fostering inclusive environments, and a dedication to ensuring our operations run smoothly.

We’re grateful for the leadership, creativity, and energy both Hannah and Joanna bring to Plus One Foundation. We can’t wait to see the amazing things we’ll accomplish together.

See Our Full Team

Traumatic Brain Injury Assessment Overhauled

By Thomas Lehrich, President of the Board

Trauma centers across America will begin to test a new approach for assessing traumatic brain injury. This improved assessment should provide accurate diagnoses and more appropriate treatment.

The new framework, which was developed by a coalition of experts and patients from 14 countries and by the National Institutes of Health, expands the assessment beyond immediate clinical symptoms. Added criteria would include biomarkers, CT and MRI scans, and factors such as other medical conditions and how the trauma occurred.

For a little over 50 years, trauma centers have used the Glasgow Coma Scale to assess patients with TBI, dividing them into mild, moderate, and severe categories, based on their level of consciousness and other clinical symptoms. That diagnosis determined the level of care patients received in the emergency department. In the U. S., TBI results in approximately 80 thousand deaths annually and accounts for about half-a-million permanent disabilities each year.

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August is National Wellness Month

August is National Wellness Month

By Thomas Lehrich, President

Let’s Make Well-Being a Priority. Plus One is kicking off Wellness Wave on August 11.

National Wellness Month is celebrated in August. The month encourages individuals and to prioritize healthy habits. Join us this summer for Wellness Wave 2025 (previously named Hit The Deck)!

This is our annual fitness-thon to raise resources for Plus One's programs to support individuals with neurological conditions. It’s a chance to challenge yourself to reach a wellness goal while helping people with neurological conditions!

See link to sign up. It is easy and fun.

The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains (Washington Square Press, 2025)

Thomas Lehrich, President of Plus One reviews a unique book on the brain.

BU medical school neurologist Pria Anand, MD received her BA degree in cognitive science at Yale University and her MD with a concentration in biomedical ethics and medical humanities at Stanford University. We preview her book on the brain. In Dr. Anand’s book The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains (Washington Square Press, 2025), Anand explains how storytelling shapes the understanding of illness.

Using her clinical experiences and tapping case studies, the book brings a close look at the mysteries of the brain and the power of narrative in medicine.

A Newly Approved Blood Test for Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease

Caring for a family member with a brain condition that has no known effective treatment and a challenging prognosis is extremely difficult. The family and medical dynamics involved can be overwhelming.

A year ago, the Plus One Foundation introduced our branded education program, Think aBout It. Last month, we expanded the initiative to include biomarkers, launching an educational piece focused on brain injury signature markers. We also know that individuals with brain injuries have an increased risk of developing future cognitive conditions. In this article, we discuss the first Food and Drug Administration–approved blood test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia in the United States. This breakthrough could transform how we detect and manage cognitive decline, offering new hope for patients and families alike.

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