Senator Kemp Hannon, chair of the Senate Health Committee, joined with the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) at Hofstra University to announce a new New York State grant to build on last year's $45,000 funding, which is being used to better the treatment of head injuries in youth sports across New York State.

The announcement was made just prior to NYSPHSAA's workshop on concussion management at Hofstra for school administrators and athletic personnel. Also attending were Lloyd Mott, assistant director of NYSPHSAA, Dr. Peter Acker, MD, Robert "Jay" Dunkle, Ph.D., neuropsychology, and Gary Meierdiercks (certified athletic trainer).

"This year's funding will continue these statewide workshops and allow for demonstration projections to establish baseline neurological functioning of all athletes in a program and follow-up testing for those suspected of experiencing a concussion," Senator Hannon said.

"Building awareness of the condition," Hannon continued, "is the first hurdle we had to meet for the over 700 school districts in New York which range in their number of athletic teams from the single digits to some large districts with over 150 teams in the seventh to 12th grades."

NYSPHSAA used the 2006 grant for three purposes. A quarter of the funding was used to create and distribute concussion management cards for all schools in the state. The cards are double sided and are placed in the first aid kits for every sport and season. The cards contain information on symptoms, removal of players, treatment of head injuries and care guidelines. Previous regulations permitted players who were symptom-free for 15 minutes to be able to return to play. It is believed such rapid return could cause post-traumatic injuries, potentially worsening a concussion injury incurred. Half of the funding is used to run concussion management workshops for administrators and coaches in each of the 11 sections of New York. All schools throughout New York State are invited and privy to the materials presented at the workshops, which include presentations from doctors, neuropsychologists and athletic trainers, directors or administrators. The remaining 25 percent of the grant is used for clerical costs associated with running NYSPHSAA and these workshops.

There have been many instances, especially in youth sports, when injured players are sent back on the field when they should receive medical attention instead. Returning a player to a game after a head injury can result in traumatic effects on the brain.

Now that every coach or trainer has information with detailed instructions on how to remove a player and deal with head injuries, there should be far fewer reasons for a player erroneously returning to play and worsening the damage to their brain.

In 2005, Senator Hannon held a Concussion Roundtable at Hofstra University that included panelists Dr. Deborah Benson (Transitions of Long Island), James Colligan (Carle Place Middle/High School), Susan Hardman (NYS Department of Health), Nancy Kalafus (Garden City Public High Schools), Michael Kaplen (Brain Injury Association of New York State), Lloyd Mott (NYSPHSAA), Dr. Elliot Pellman (National Football League's Committee on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury), Richard Ravo (Lawrence High School) and Charles Wolf (Long Island Head Injury Association). According to the roundtable's findings, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are often referred to as the "silent epidemic" because the neurological problems resulting from them are often invisible.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are an estimated 300,000 sports-related TBIs in the United States each year. Seventy-five percent of TBIs are varying degrees of concussions also known as mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI). It is estimated that one in 20 high school athletes will sustain a concussion as a result of their involvement in sports.

There are myths surrounding concussions, including: if you weren't knocked out, you didn't suffer a concussion; everyone gets better in two weeks; once the headache goes away, everything is fine; if there are no visible head injuries, it isn't serious; concussion is a minor brain injury with no long-term effects; and athletes should play through the pain.

Concussions slow the reflexes of an individual, especially if the initial concussion has not been fully healed, exposing one to further injury. This grant, and the cards and workshops developed as a result of it, dispel these myths and work to ensure injured athletes are properly removed from play and treated.

NYSPHSAA also negotiated with the University of Pittsburgh to utilize its testing protocols for students to determine their basic cognitive function. Upon a suspected injury, a follow-up test can be administered to determine if an impairment to the student-athlete's neurocognitive abilities has taken place. The follow-up test results are a strong guide to allowing the student to either resume or refrain from further athletic competition.