It was another fabulous evening hosted by Dr. Dariusz Nasiek at his monthly networking event on Thursday, May 16^th. Seeing such a diverse and enthusiastic group gathered to connect, share insights, and forge new collaborations was a true pleasure. The evening was full of fruitful exchanges and lasting relationships. We want to thank Dr. Richard Braver from Hackensack Surgery Center and Dr. Gregory Hedgepeth from Paragon Neuromonitoring for sponsoring this event. Networking is about more than just connecting people. It’s about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities. 

Our guest speaker this evening was Dr. Richard Braver, DPM. Dr. Braver is a double board-certified foot and ankle surgeon specializing in children and adult sports medicine and correcting deformities. He also specializes in foot, ankle, and heel pain treatments. He is currently the team podiatrist for several professional and college sports teams. He also has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the manufacturing and designing shoes/sneakers. Dr. Braver is an owner of Hackensack Surgery Center, LLC. HSC is a premier New Jersey licensed facility located in Hackensack, NJ. The center offers multi-specialty services in a safe, patient-focused, warm, and caring environment.

Along with its award-winning medical staff, HSC prioritizes providing its patients with the best care and recovery. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care fully accredits HSC. They offer a state-of-the-art facility that is well-equipped with the latest technology. If you want to schedule an appointment with Dr. Braver, please call 201-791-1881.

Our co-sponsor for this evening is Paragon Neuromonitoring. Paragon Neuromonitoring, LLC, was founded in 2016 by Gregory Hedgepeth, who has over 20 years of experience in the NIOM industry. The company is committed to providing high-quality neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring services. Board-certified neurologists supervise their highly trained technicians during every procedure. Patient care is their top priority, and they strive to provide the best possible NIOM services and patient outcomes.

Dr. Nasiek spoke about Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and the impact it can have on your life as well as life expectancy. Following a TBI, many questions must be asked that play a crucial role in diagnosing and treating the patient’s injury—step 1. The initial post-evaluation is establishing a plausible injury mechanism. Ask the patient to describe the events surrounding the injury and listen carefully. Query as necessary for a concussive force (e.g., Did your head jolt back and forth?) and its intensity (e.g., From what height did you fall?). Distinguish the patient’s memories from facts they inferred or learned from others afterward—next, Query Signs and Symptoms. Determine whether the patient’s mental status was altered immediately after the impact.

Some examples are: Do you remember the effect and moments just after? Did anyone see you lay still and unresponsive right after the accident? Were you confused or unsure about where you were and what was happening? Were you able to think clearly about what to do after the accident? Lastly, Rule Out Confounding Factors. Check whether factors other than brain injury can account for the acute alteration in mental status. A few questions to ask would be: Were you drinking alcohol or using drugs just before the accident? Did you see the impact coming? Did you think that you or others would be seriously injured or killed? Did you feel panicked or scared? Did you injure other parts of your body? Were you in severe pain? If you believe you or someone you know has suffered a TBI, call Dr. Nasiek’s office at 201-894-1313. 

Dr. Nasiek would like to thank everyone for taking the time out of their busy schedules to join us this evening. Your presence is greatly appreciated and speaks volumes about your commitment to our shared goals…helping each other! Again, we thank Hackensack Surgery Center and Paragon Neuromonitoring for their sponsorship. Together, we are stronger!