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St.Vincent Sports Medicine, in concert with the Indiana Neuroscience Institute at St.Vincent, announces the "Heads Up" program, an initiative to improve the quality of concussion care in the Indianapolis sports community
"Heads Up" is a program designed to streamline the care of athletes who have sustained concussions. The program will give St. Vincent Sports Medicine personnel a method to track concussions across multiple sports, gather data to compare frequencies of concussion by sport, and an objective way of safely returning an athlete to healthy participation.
Members of this program include St. Vincent Sports Medicine Primary-care physicians David M. Harsha, M.D. and S. Craig Veatch, MD, St. Vincent Sports Medicine Certified Athletic Trainers, and highly qualified consultants in Neurosurgery and Neurology. This program is available to St. Vincent Sports Medicine network schools and teams. It is also available to any community physician, athletic trainer, or parent who desires consultation in caring for a concussed athlete/child.
The "Heads Up" program uses ImPACT Neuropsychological testing software. ImPACT is a state-of-the-art system that helps athletic trainers and physicians better manage return to play decision-making after an athlete has sustained a concussion.
ImPACT is quick, efficient, and accurate in measuring the cognitive effects of concussion. It takes about 25 minutes to administer each test. A baseline test is done and all concussed athletes do repeated tests. An athletes' recovery curve is determined and allows the physician or athletic trainer to know when an athlete has recovered sufficiently to return to play.
ImPACT measures multiple cognitive areas that are important to normal brain function. The tests measure memory, visual spatial abilities, and information processing. These functions are significantly affected by mild traumatic brain injury.
ImPACT is currently being used by several NFL, NHL, MLB, IRL and CART teams.
St. Vincent Sports Medicine teams already using the ImPACT software include:
- Indianapolis Ice Hockey team
- Pike High School
- Carmel High School
- Carmel Ice Hockey Clubs
- Zionsville High School
For more information, please contact St. Vincent Sports Medicine at (317) 415-5747 or the Indiana Neuroscience Institute at (317) 338-9806. |
