Westchester Rolls Out 10-Point Plan for Concussion Safety in Schools

Safer Communities special task force of Westchester County releases a 10-point guide for head injury and concussion prevention for high school students and young athletes.

The concussion task force of Westchester County, led by Dr. Mark Herceg, unveiled its 10 Best Practices for concussion management for high school and youth sports at a press conference in White Plains on Monday. According to its study, there is a wide discrepancy between prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of head injuries, the most prominent safety issue in sports. According to data, an average of 10 students per school suffer concussions each year. 

The 10-point plan–an initiative of Safer Sports, a part of County Executive Robert P. Astorino’s 3-year-old Safer Communities campaign–focuses on improving collaboration between school officials when treating head injuries. It also stresses the importance of parent education about concussions and how to identify symptoms. Some of the protocols in place in local schools were inadequate and years out of practice, according to Herceg. The task force’s goal is to get school caught up on the latest, rapidly evolving science of head injury protocol and concussion treatment.

The recommended 10 Best Practices include:

1. Start With Awareness. Educate parents, students, athletes, coaches, and any school personnel associated with youth sports programs about concussions and protocols before participating in sports.

2. Build a Team. Encourage schools and sports organizations to designate a concussion management team (CMT), including an athletic trainer, physician, nurse, athletic director, and school/neuropsychologist, that brings together experts trained in concussions. 

3. Report What You Know.  Report all concussions along with any lasting sympotms from the field, playgound, or classroom to a parent, the ER, a health professional. 

4. Assess Situation Immediately. Conduct sideline assessments that can be compared to baseline behaviour by athletic trainers, in order to capture concussions in real time as they occur.