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variety of health care professionals. The Brain
Injury Association of America (BIAA) has a
national network of many state affiliates and
hundreds of local chapters and support groups
across the country that provide help in your
community.
Credible organizations, as well as local support
groups, provide reliable information for
seminars, where facility operators and staff
members can raise awareness of traumatic
brain injuries and discuss facility protocols.
Players and family members, who may be
potential customers, will not only take away
useful information, but feel safe playing at a
facility they know makes their health and safety
a priority.
A seminar on concussions to educate
parents, coaches, and athletes may include
a presentation or discussion on baseline
cognitive testing. Athletes can be tested
before and after a season (or after an injury)
to determine how their cognitive function has
changed, if at all, over time or before returning
to play after injury.
4. Offer information on concussions
at your facility, including a
testing program.
With so much credible information available
through the CDC, BIAA and other organizations
like USIndoor member SportsBrain, it is easy
for facilities to help educate their customers.
The CDC's website, for example, provides
information on concussions for coaches,
athletes and parents in the form of fact
sheets, posters and quizzes.
The "clipboard" for coaching staff, which is
also valuable for referees, lists signs and
symptoms observed by staff and reported by
the athletes. These key words and phrases
are helpful for staff to communicate effectively
with players after an injury. The clipboard also
includes simple steps, which can help during a
stressful event when staff members may not
remember exactly what to do.
Facilities that offer baseline concussion testing
raise concussion awareness simply by offering
the test at the beginning of the season. If
parents and coaches are educated on baseline
testing by your facility, they may want to get
tested at your facility, as well.
5. Develop relationships with
sources that can treat your
athletes.
Parents need answers. When their child gets
injured, they want to know what to do and
