Prevent and Treat Injury for Kids

Please support our Concussion Care Fund! A gift of any size can help our work continue.

donate-btn

 

 

We will fund initiatives to prevent and treat injuries in youth recreation and sports.

Concussions contribute to 31% of child deaths.

Our Programs:

We supported several community programs to prevent and help recognize concussions:

  • Heads Up Youth Football clinics led by former Atlanta Falcons Linebacker, Buddy Curry. The kids learned how to play safer football, and we provided safety education and concussion awareness for parents.

 

 

Learn more about the clinics and view photos from the events in Davidson and Davie County.

 

  • Bike Helmet Safety: We partnered with Safe Kids of the Northwest Piedmont and local police department’s bike patrol to educate families about bike safety. Everyone stressed the importance of wearing a helmet to prevent brain injuries.

 

IMG_5295

Learn more about our program and view photos from our events.

 

You can help! A $10 donation = 1 helmet for a child

Play it Safe: Sports

We are part of a consortium of institutions working to reduce and treat concussion for fast and efficient results in various sports and recreational activities. Our hope is to create a collaborative research database to:

  • Accurately diagnose, treat and prevent concussion among youth athletes
  • Focus on research, education, and advocacy components

For more information on concussions, download our PDF “The Facts About Concussions” or visit the CDC’s Heads Up program.

 

Signs of concussion CIPT

 

Play it Safe: Rec

We funded ATV injury intervention research to discover ways to improve safety and treatment for recreational injuries to children. We hope to:

  • Improve research and knowledge on what causes people to ignore safety regulations for riding ATVs and bicycles
  • Get involved in educational and outreach programs to make ATVs and recreational vehicles safer

Watch our ATV safety video featuring NASCAR drivers Austin and Ty Dillon or download our ATV safety tips.

 

Research: iTAKL Head Impact Study

We are helping fund an important study comprised of 111 youth football players ages 6 to 18 – the largest ever conducted. Numerous studies in this area have been done on high school and college players, but those findings do not necessarily apply to younger players.

“More than 70 percent of the football players in the United States are under age 14” – Steven Rowson, Ph.D.

Results continue but initial results show:

  • Contact in practice, not games, was the most significant variable for head impacts incurred over the season
  • Less contact during practice could mean a lot less exposure to head injuries for young football players
  • Pre- and post-season imaging of the same players over multiple seasons will paint a clearer picture of the issue
  • More research is needed for other sports and the iTAKL girls and boys soccer study has started

The NIH has pledged $3.2 million to extend the study through 2019. More research and continued funding of this project is necessary to reduce the risk to youth players. View the TODAY Show‘s piece on the study.

 

Education: Sports Medicine Course

We hosted a sports medicine education course to help all members of the emergency care team prepare for youth sports injuries. The four-hour course covered concussions, heat illness, spinal injury management, and how to develop an emergency action plan. Participants also received a hands-on simulation of a youth sports emergency using local student athletes, as well as a sports equipment removal toolkit.

 

Advocacy: Pediatric Trauma in Sports Briefing

Representatives Richard Hudson and G.K. Butterfield, Co-Chairs of the Pediatric Trauma Caucus and members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, hosted a bipartisan briefing on the nation’s pediatric trauma epidemic and youth sports. Our executive director, Bob Gfeller, was the moderator and our co-founder, Richard Childress, addressed the crowd.

 

View references and sources.