Thanks to a grant from the
Cincinnati Bengals,
Mercy Health is now able to provide funds to its 28 partner high schools for
Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing.
“It’s all over the news—the danger in returning kids or adults back to play, or back to the classroom before their brain is healthy,” says Pamela Scott, athletic director of
Anderson High School.
Because head injuries have been so widely publicized as of late, Scott says student athletes are starting to become more aware of the issues an early return to play presents; but with ImPACT testing, an early return is no longer a possibility.
Prior to the start of the school year, all student athletes involved in contact sports will undergo initial baseline testing, which measures various cognitive skills.
“Then after a head injury occurs, they go back and take the test and compare results to the baseline test and post-test, and that way they can safely determine if the athlete’s ready to come back.” Scott says.
Anderson High School has used ImPACT testing since 2010, but many schools are not fortunate enough to be able to afford the testing materials and technology it requires. With the recent grant, however, student athletes in Mercy’s network will now be much safer than in years past.
“They’re playing in front of their home crowd, get hit in the head, want to get back in—so there’s a tendency to not be accurate when the trainer’s asking them questions—because they want to go back in,” Scott says. “So even if they have a headache and are dizzy, they might not tell the trainer the truth. Now that’s no longer an option.”