in progress, offers matching grants to up to 100 public or private high schools. Schools pay $650 of the program’s $1300 total cost and make a 3-year commitment to baseline and post-concussion test their student athletes. BIANJ contributes the matching $650. This grant is funded by the New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Fund, which was created, in part, to provide for public education and prevention activities related to brain injury. BIANJ is partnering with ImPACT Applications, Inc. of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to deliver its computerized concussion management program to grant recipients, along with training for the schools’ certified athletic trainers and team doctors. ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) was the first, and is currently the most widely used, computerized concussion evaluation system. It is used by several New Jersey colleges and universities, including Rutgers and Princeton. ImPACT has also been the concussion management tool of choice for several professional sports teams, and, effective this fall, will be used to baseline every NFL player in accordance with its new league guidelines for concussion management. In spring 2006, 35 high schools applied and were awarded matching grants by the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey. Another 28 grants were awarded the following spring. There are 72 high schools in New Jersey currently using ImPACT, 63 of which are doing so through this grant. Of those 72, only 16 schools have used ImPACT independently from the grant either prior to the grant or at present. The Association’s grant initiative has more than quadrupled the number of high school scholastic sports programs with ImPACT, increasing the percentage of New Jersey high schools that are baseline testing by 11% (based on total of 423 public and private high schools in New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association sports). With funding for up to 100 high schools, BIANJ is eager to award a remaining 37 grants in the spring of 2008. The first data runs are also now being analyzed by the Committee. Concussion Materials & Resources An information-based campaign is not complete without resources. In determining what it would create, the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey took stock of what already existed. The Concussion in Sports Committee wanted to deliver information that was consistent with that being disbursed by the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and utilize
existing resources whenever possible. Its materials would complement existing ones, while promoting the New Jersey campaign. New Jersey’s resources include two posters, tear-off pads on concussion signs and symptoms, and a sports safety brochure. The Association also produces a quarterly newsletter, Game Plan, specifically on sports concussion that is distributed to attendees from the Summit and schools participating in the Baseline Grant Initiative. A binder of Association and outside resources was compiled for Summit attendees and remains available electronically. The CDC’s coaches’ toolkit, Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports, was produced near the same time as this campaign launched, and so the Association coordinated with the CDC to distribute a copy to every attendee at the Concussion in Youth Sports Summit. Similarly, the campaign encourages people to obtain their copies of the latest CDC toolkits, Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports and Heads Up: Brain Injury In Your Practice. Above all these materials, the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey regards a website created for the Concussion in Sports Campaign to be most valuable. All of the components of its Concussion in Sports Campaign, including the Concus-
sion Consensus Statement, links to Summit presentations, Baseline Grant Applications, and resource materials, can be found on www.sportsconcussion.com. Moving Forward The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey Concussion in Sports Committee has found that developing a clear consensus statement; educating professionals, athletes and others about concussions; creating a partnership with a concussion management program (ImPACT); securing funds to enable schools to implement concussion assessment and management tools; and providing additional resources and outreach to partners have produced an effective sports concussion campaign. New initiatives are currently being investigated and new partners are being identified as the BIANJ Concussion in Sports Committee continues to expand its work. About the Authors
All three authors are members of the New Jersey Brain Injury Association’s “Sports Concussion Management Committee”. Ms. Leipf is also the Director of Communications for NJ BIA. Dr. David B. Gealt, D.O., is a medical orthopaedics and sports medicine specialist at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden, NJ. Dr. Ron Savage is the President of NABIS.
More than
Traumatic Brain Injury Serving the community for two decades, Beechwood has expanded its TBI offering to encompass broad neurological services as well as new Behavioral Remediation and Late Adolescent programs. In addition to TBI, we serve individuals with brain damage due to: • Anoxia/Hypoxia due to drowning, heart attack, drug overdose, alcohol poisoning, anesthesia errors, etc.
• Electric shock/lightning strike • Degenerative diseases • Infectious diseases • Early stage moderate dementias • Tumors • Brain surgeries • Many neurological disorders
• Stroke For information and admissions, call 1-800-782-3299. Our facilities are adapted to accommodate all levels of accessibility.
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SERVICES
A Community-Integrated Brain Injury Program An affiliated service of Woods Services, Inc. www.beechwoodrehab.org
Langhorne, PA • Bensalem, PA BRAIN INJURY PROFESSIONAL
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