According to Newberg High School Athletic Director Tim Burke, the school’s concussion management program has been a success so far and continues to improve.

Since it began administering a testing program on a part-time basis during the 2008-2009 school year, the school’s procedures on concussions have gradually coalesced into a more concrete policy, albeit one that is steadily evolving.

That’s what Burke reported to the Newberg School District board of directors  Nov. 13 after the panel requested an update on the program’s progress.

“I’m glad we’re doing it,” Burke told the board. “The good thing so far is we really haven’t had a lot people saying, ‘What a bunch of idiots. What are they doing?’ People get it. People know it’s a big deal and I think most people understand the need for it.”

The program begins with student-athletes participating in the Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) program, taking the test before any injuries have occurred to establish a baseline for cognitive functioning.
  
A state law, known as “Max’s Law,” provides guidelines that schools must follow when dealing with concussions, including mandatory education for coaches, which the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) has followed through on by mandating all coaches take an online training course each year.
  
Max’s Law also requires players be removed from play if they “exhibit signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion,” and that they cannot return to play that day.
  
Following a possible concussion, players are evaluated by NHS athletic trainer Gretchen Nylander, who is both registered and licensed to deal with concussions, even though she isn’t required to be.
  
The ImPACT test is taken again and the results are sent to one of two local doctors to be analyzed so they can make a recommendation.
  
Once a concussion has been diagnosed, both OSAA rules and Max’s Law mandate that an athlete must sit out from practice until they are asymptomatic and have been cleared by a health care professional.
  
At that point, players at NHS are not simply free to return to practice, but then must complete a Return to Play protocol that falls in line with a return-to-play form created by the OSAA.
  
The protocol mandates a slow progression of exercise each day, from light aerobic work to full practice, as long symptoms do not reoccur. If symptoms do return, the player must fall back to the previous step and won’t progress until they make it through symptom free. Burke said that without setbacks, the process should take about a week.
  
Burke said that by treating the ImPACT testing like a “mental physical,” the testing aspect of the program has been a huge success, but there is still a lot of room for growth.
  
Students and even parents have at times been stubborn about the slow pace of the return to play, especially when the athlete feels fine. And while everybody, from coaches and trainers to parents and the players themselves, are becoming more aware and more adept at spotting symptoms, Burke doesn’t believe reporting of symptoms is near100 percent because the kids simply want to play so badly.
  
“Those are some struggles we still have,” Burke said. “It’s easy to say the kid probably shouldn’t be playing, but now it’s my kid and that’s when people start learning. The learning curve just shoots up.”
 
Board member Ron Mock, who said he was impressed by the depth of Burke’s presentation, added that he was unaware that the high school even had such a strict protocol before Burke’s presentation. He added the board is looking into codifying the current procedures so that district can craft a policy.
  
“My interest, at least, at the board level is to have our protections be at or near the cutting edge of protecting kids, doing as much as we can do,” Mock said. “Not to be trailing on this issue, but leading on this issue.”

By: Seth Gordon 
Newberg Graphic