Virginia Beach, Va. (May 17, 2007) – As part of the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Bon Secours Health Center at Virginia Beach, Bon Secours Hampton Roads announced its commitment to improving the health of local high school athletes by gifting all Virginia Beach Public high schools and four private high schools in the city with ImPACT, a computer software program for concussion management.
 ImPACT (Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is a computerized evaluation system used that may help determine a concussion’s severity, as well as if and when it is safe for the athlete to return to contact sports.  

To establish a baseline, athletes undergo a 20-minute computerized test that measures brain processing, speed, memory and visual motor skills. Then, if an athlete experiences a concussion during the season, he or she is re-tested and the post-concussion data are compared to the baseline data. This information helps athletic trainers and physicians to determine the player’s best treatment and when it is safe for him/her to return to active sports.

Eleven public high schools will receive the ImPACT software, as well as four private schools that requested it – Atlantic Shores Christian, Bishop Sullivan Catholic, Cape Henry Collegiate and Virginia Beach Friends School. As part of its gift, Bon Secours will send a therapist to the schools to train staff in administering the test.
“Bon Secours Hampton Roads has a rich tradition of gifting the new communities in which we are invited to serve,” said Daniel S. Duggan, executive vice president and administrator of Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center. “In addition to providing exceptional care at our new outpatient facility, we look forward to making a measurable difference in our community’s high school’s sports programs with this computer software system.  This program is yet another example of the ministry of the Sisters of Bon Secours, which is to provide ‘Good Help to Those in Need.’”   

In United States, an athlete has an estimated 19 percent per season chance of experiencing a sports-related concussion.  While the majority of athletes are likely to recover, an unknown number of these individuals may experience chronic confusion, headaches, dizziness and memory loss related to a recurrent brain injury.  
The recognition and management of concussion in athletes can be difficult due to:  a wide variety of symptoms that make diagnosis challenging; the unavailability of scientific data based on best practices for treatment; unless an injury is severe, limited tests are available to measure the effects; and athletes motivated to quickly return to play, often downplay or simply ignore symptoms. 

Previously, only NFL and NHL teams used a paper-and-pencil version of ImPACT. Physicians and sports trainers now have a more time- and cost-efficient method of evaluating teams of athletes, especially at the high school level. Pre-season baseline testing of groups or entire teams of athletes can be done efficiently at one time in a high school computer lab, for example.

Photo:  (Left to Right) John Kalcay, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Support Services, Virginia Beach Public Schools; Daniel S. Duggan, Executive Vice President / Administrator, Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center; and, Dennis Price, Principal, Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School.