Brooke Murtaugh

Dr. Brooke Murtaugh is an occupational therapist specializing in brain injury rehabilitation at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in Nebraska. She earned her clinical doctorate in occupational therapy from Creighton University in Omaha, NE in December of 2004. Dr. Murtaugh provides clinical care for for survivors and families of severe traumatic brain injury, specifically with disorders of consciousness (DoC) and manages Madonna’s CARF accredited brain injury specialty program across Madonna’s continuum of care. She is responsible for coordinating quality programmatic services across Madonna’s continuum of care for those with brain and burn injury. Dr. Murtaugh initiated the development of Madonna’s Disorders of Consciousness services starting in 2016. She is an active member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) where she participates in the Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group and DoC Task Force. Dr. Murtaugh is also a member of the International Brain Injury Association DoC Special Interest Group and co-chair of the Care of the Patient in Coma (COPIC) scientific working group as part of the international Curing Coma Campaign coordinated by the Neurocritical Care Society. In 2022, Brooke was invited to participate in the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program TBI Best Practice Guidelines committee and has played an active role in consulting and writing the 2024 edition of the TBI Best Practice Guidelines. In 2025, Brooke was an invited member to serve on the CARF International Standards Advisory Committee to develop DoC care and rehabilitation standards for CARF accredited organizations. Dr. Murtaugh has presented at numerous national and international conferences on brain injury. She also has several peer-reviewed publications focusing on DoC and brain injury rehabilitaiton. Most recently, she has participated in the development and launch of a novel DoC Family and Consumer education web-based resource in collaboration with BrainLine.org.