• Head Injury (Concussion) Protocol: 

    1. The student chooses to play sports.
    2. All students playing interscholastic contact sports will complete the Pre-Participation ImPACT assessment. 
    3. Student is hurt (head injury):
      1. The student is pulled out of the game/practice permanently and evaluated on the sideline and the determination is made to call an ambulance or refer for an evaluation by MD ONLY (No NP or PA).
      2. The injury occurred at school and the student is well: The School Nurse may perform a post-injury ImPACT in the health office and fax to a private doctor (visit to ED or private MD should never be delayed).
      3. If the School Nurse is not present or the student is not doing well: send the ED /private MD.
      4. The student is excluded from all PE and sports activities.
    4. The student gets evaluated in ED or by a private MD:
      1. Upon return of the student to school, the student is asked to sit through a post-injury ImPACT assessment if a post-injury assessment has not been completed yet.
      2. If the ED/private MD did not diagnose the student with a concussion, but the ImPACT results are abnormal, the student will not participate in sports until evaluated by the school physician.
      3. If a private doctor diagnoses the student with a concussion, we will wait until symptoms have resolved. 
    1. When symptoms are resolved and the student feels ready to return, a new ImPACT assessment is made at the school to check for a return to baseline.
    2. If the ImPACT results do not show the student is back to baseline, the student's exemption will be extended. The School Nurse and School Physician will discuss when to repeat ImPACT.
    3. When the ImPACT results are back to baseline and symptoms have resolved, a summary of the ImPACT testing (pre and all post-injury tests are usually tabulated on a single page for the doctor's review) will be faxed to a private doctor or school physician.
    4. If the private MD is not available and cannot see a student promptly, the School Physician will see the student.
    5. The clearance of the private MD will be reviewed by the school physician (same day or max 24 hours after a private MD visit).
    6. The School Physician will either sign off or recommend further rest.
    7. When a student is cleared, the student will go through the gradual return to play protocol (RTP) (5 days with full return to play on Day 6).
    8. If the student clears the RTP protocol, he/she will be allowed to return to full activity on day 6 of the protocol.
    9. Please remind Phys. Ed teachers not to have students on brain rest perform reading/writing assignments during PE classes.

    Per NYSED:

    • Only MDs can diagnose concussions or clear for RTP after resolution when concussions occur during interscholastic sports. 
    • Nurse Practitioners (NP) and Physician Assistants (PA) may diagnose and clear if concussions were not sports-related. 

    Links:
    NYSED- Guidelines for Concussion Management in Schools
    CDC Heads Up