Dear {school name to customize} Parent:



Dear Parent:

North Memorial Health Care is working with area high schools to help ensure a safe return to activity for young athletes after they have suffered an injury – particularly after a concussion. As part of this effort, we are visiting schools to conduct a safe, quick and inexpensive health assessment that could prove invaluable when treating a young athlete following a concussion.

Research has demonstrated that neurocognitive testing is a cornerstone of proper post-injury care and contributes significantly to the understanding of recovery following a concussion. The neurocognitive assessment provided by North Memorial is called ImPACT™ (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing).

Developed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, ImPACT is a software tool used to evaluate multiple aspects of neurocognitive function, including memory, attention, brain processing speed, reaction time, and post-concussion symptoms. Here’s how it works:

• With parental permission, an athlete participates in a 30-minute computer-based assessment to develop his or her baseline neurocognitive report. The assessment is very affordable at just $5.

• The report will be saved for one year in North Memorial’s database (we recommend young athletes be screened every year due to the unique cognitive development of adolescents). In the event that an athlete sustains a concussion, the baseline report can be made available to any school or health care professional who participates in that individual’s care and recovery.

• Ideally, the ImPACT assessment would be administered a second time (post-injury), and results are then compared to the first assessment to help determine the presence and extent of any neurocognitive deficits.

It is important to point out that an ImPACT assessment conducted after an injury can still provide valuable treatment and recovery information even if an athlete never participated in a baseline assessment.

We will be offering this ImPACT assessment at your child’s school and have enclosed additional time, date and location details along with a permission form that must be completed and signed if he or she wishes to participate. More information about concussions and North Memorial’s approach to concussion management is also provided. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have.

Sincerely,

Jason Cardosi, MA, CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

(763) 520-7374

jason.cardosi@

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download