Athletic Director |
6/10/09
Important Message Regarding Concussion Testing
From UPMC Sports Medicine:
Dear Parent/Guardian of Student Athletes:
As we prepare for another school year, we would like to inform you of changes that we have made regarding our ImPACT testing protocol. As you may be aware, ImPACT is an online tool used in the management of concussions. We encourage baseline testing to your athletes prior to participation in high risk sports. In the event of a head injury, the test is repeated and scores are compared to the baseline test. Per our protocol, post injury consultation then occurs with the UPMC Sports Concussion Program to help determine treatment and management of the injury.
In years past, athletes had the option of taking their baseline tests at home. Problems such as distractions at home and other people taking tests for the athletes have created a concern over the validity of the data in a subset of athletes. Therefore, we are moving to a model of supervised group testing at the school.
Our online ImPACT test is now password protected. Our password will not be given out to any athletes. All home testing will be discontinued.
We feel that our concussion management protocol is the most comprehensive approach in the assessment, treatment, and prevention of sports-related concussions. We take pride in providing the best possible care to your athletes. Please let us know if you have any comments, questions, or concerns.
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