National Athletic Trainers’ Association

Korey Stringer Institute Announces 2018 Lifesaving Awards

KSI Perfomance/Safety Logo(May 14th, 2018) — The Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) is proud to honor three individuals for theiroutstanding contributions to preventing sudden death in sport through the KSI’s 2018 lifesaving awards.The awards were presented at NFL headquarters in New York City, NY during the KSI’s annualfundraising gala on May 10, 2018.

Located at the University of Connecticut, the Korey Stringer Institute is a national research and advocacy organization dedicated to maximizing performance, optimizing safety, and preventing sudden death among athletes, warfighters, and laborers.

The 2018 award recipients are:

KSI Lifesaving Research Award

This award recognizes exceptional dedication and work in research aimed to advance knowledge regarding the prevention of sudden death in sport.

Scott Anderson, ATC

Head Athletic Trainer University of Oklahoma

The head athletic trainer for the University of Oklahoma since 1996, Scott Anderson is currently president of the College Athletic Trainers’ Society and the Big 12 Conference representative to the NCAA Concussion Safety Committee. He is former co-director of the Summit on Safety in College Football (2014, 2016). His prior service includes

membership on the NCAA Concussion Task Force (2014) and the Inter-Association Task Force on Safety in Football: Off-Season Conditioning (2012). He was co-chair of the National Athletic Trainers’Association Inter-Association Task Force on Sickle Cell Trait in Athletes (2007) and a member of the Inter-Association Task Force on Exertional Heat Illness (2003). He served as chair of the Big 12 Conference Medical Aspects of Sport Committee from 1999 to 2002.

Recognitions: College/University – Athletic Trainer of the Year 2006; All-American Football Foundation, Inc – Outstanding Athletic Trainer 2005; and 2000-01 Big 12 Conference Athletic Training Staff of the Year, and Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame.

KSI Lifesaving Service Award

This award recognizes exceptional service aimed to improve policies and advocate for the adoption of policies in order to reduce sudden death in sport.

Larry Cooper, MS, LAT, ATC

Teacher & Athletic Trainer Penn-Trafford High School

Larry Cooper has been a tireless advocate for secondary school athletic trainers.

He has been involved locally, regionally, and nationally on various committees, projects, and several inter-association task forces. Recently, he served as the NATA Secondary School Athletic Trainers Committee (SSATC) Chair and also the District 2 SSATC Representative. Cooper has been a teacher and certified athletic trainer for 35 years. For the last 27 years, he has served as a sports medicine, health, and physical education instructor at Penn-Trafford High School in Harrison City, Pennsylvania. Cooper has also served as a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. In addition, he has held numerous positions within the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers Society (PATS) including being a member of the Board of Directors and Secondary School Committee Chair. Cooper is a founding member of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Leagues (WPIAL) Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. He continues to work as a master assessor for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s (PIAA) Wrestling Weight Loss rule. Cooper has been an active member in the KSI’s ATLAS Projectsince its inception. This collaborative effort between the NATA and KSI has led to new policies and policy changes that have increased secondary school athlete safety across the country.

Cooper was inducted into the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainer Hall of Fame in 2014. He received the NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award in 2014 and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 2016. In addition, he received the School Health/ Training and Conditioning Magazine Most Valuable Athletic Trainer Award in 2015; The Micro Bio-Medics Scholastic Athletic Trainer Award in 2003; the PATS Service Award in 2005; and the PATS Distinguished Merit Award in 2011.

His favorite role has been that as loving husband to Lisa and father to their three daughters, Sara, Molly, and Delaney.

KSI Lifesaving Education Award

This award recognizes exceptional work to advance knowledge and education in the realm of preventing sudden death in sport.

Cindy Chang, MD

Professor, Primary Care Sports Medicine University of California San Francisco

Dr. Cindy Chang is a primary care sports medicine physician specializing in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of injuries and illnesses related to exercise and sports participation in children and adults.

She serves as chair of the California Interscholastic Federation’s SportsMedicine Advisory Committee, and also served on the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). She is a board member of Racing Hearts, a non-profit organization that increases awareness of and improves access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in communities. After co-founding the California Concussion Coalition, Dr. Chang is now co-chair of the Sports Concussion Program at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. She was an elected four-year member of the Board of Directors for the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), one the largest organizations of primary care sports medicine physicians in the world, and later served as its President in 2011-2012. She is also a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and is currently an elected member of its Board of Trustees.

Dr. Chang has worked at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and was part of the USA medical team for the Winter Paralympic Games in Nagano, Japan, in 1998 and in Salt Lake City in 2002. She served as Chief Medical Officer for the USA delegation at the 2007 Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing, and the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

She was the 2003 recipient of the AMSSM Founders Award, given to a sports medicine physician who demonstrates outstanding professional achievement and service to the community. She was also selected to receive the 2013 Dr. Ernst Jokl Sports Medicine Award, given annually to an individual for his/her contributions to the growth and development of sport medicine through practice and/or scholarly activity. In 2016, Dr. Chang was honored with the National Athletic Trainers’Association Jack Weakley Award of Distinction, for a lifetime of outstanding contributions that directly impact health care in the area of athletics, athletic training, or sports medicine and are of major and lasting importance.

Dr. Chang is currently a Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco in the Departments of Orthopaedics and Family & Community Medicine. She continues at Cal as a team physician and sports medicine consultant, and volunteers as the team physician at Berkeley High School. She is very invested in supporting her athletic trainer colleagues and advocating for their licensure inCalifornia. Chang is medical director of Emergency Education Services at UCSF Benioff Children’sHospital, and has become credentialed to train others including athletic trainers to become certified instructors in First Aid and CPR/AED. She frequently speaks to community groups, schools, club teams, and the media on a wide range of topics affecting the health and safety of our young athletes.

 

New Jersey Champions Sports Safety Campaign

KSI Logo

New Jersey Leads National Effort to Adopt 

Lifesaving Measures for High School Athletes

 

“Raise Your Rank” campaign encourages all states to adopt important safety guidelines

NEW JERSEY– Many states across the country are not fully implementing important safety guidelines intended to protect student athletes from potentially life-threatening conditions. Research has shown that nearly 90 percent of all sudden death in sports is caused by four conditions: sudden cardiac arrest, traumatic head injury, exertional heat stroke, and exertional sickling. Adopting evidence-based safety measures significantly reduces these risks. With more than 7.8 million high school students participating in sanctioned sports each year, it is vital that individual states begin taking proper steps to ensure their high school athletes are protected. The call for action came this past fall when the University of Connecticut’s Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), a national sports safety research and advocacy organization, released a comprehensive state-by-state assessment of high school sports health and safety policies. New Jersey currently ranks 4thnationally in terms of meeting all of the recommended safety guidelines with a score of 67%.

 

KEY INITIATIVES:

In response to the findings, New Jersey officials are collaborating with the KSI in addressing existing gaps in state policy to improve high school athlete safety. New Jersey is the first state to join the KSI’s national “Raise Your Rank” campaign, which started in 2018. The campaign aims to raise funds to support meetings with state representatives in order to improve mandated best practice policies and increase implementation of those policies.

 

“With support and guidance from the experts at the Korey Stringer Institute, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and Senator Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) will convene this week to begin taking the necessary steps to improve the health and safety of our secondary school athletes,” says David Csillan (Ewing HS Athletic Trainer and NJSIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee). “Our goal is to be the first state to be 100% compliant with the recommended safety guidelines.”

 

This is not the first time New Jersey has led the way in improving the health and safety of high school athletes.  New Jersey was the first state to implement heat acclimatization policies for high school athletes in 2011. Acclimatization policies require teams to allow athletes to adjust to hot conditions in late summer by phasing in practices, participating without heavy equipment, and requiring frequent breaks to allow athletes to recover and stay hydrated. Since 2011, six states have implemented similar heat acclimatization policies with positive results; there have been no reports of exertional heat stroke deaths in states where acclimatization policies are in place and properly followed.

 

“A hallmark of my tenure of as a legislator, working collaboratively with the Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey, is to make New Jersey high school sports safer for our children by creating researched-based state policies to address preventable sudden deaths,” says Sen. Diegnan. “My hope is that through this conscientiousness partnership, we will shine a light on the great measures this state legislature has taken to restrict cardiac arrest, exertional heat stroke, and head injury deaths in our student athletes and to develop further needed changes to ensure all athletes enjoy their high school sports experiences — and live to tell about them.”

 

KSI CEO Douglas Casa has been leading KSI since its inception in 2010 and has made athlete safety a focused effort of the institute. “We know that implementation of these important health and safety policies has dramatically reduced sport-related fatalities,” says Casa. “We are excited that New Jersey is taking action to continue to improve its policies and become a leader in minimizing sport-related high school deaths.”

 

For more information about the Raise Your Rank campaign, including how to apply for KSI support and how to donate to the cause, please visit ksi.uconn.edu.

 

 

 

Media Contacts

Douglas Casa, Korey Stringer Institute, UConn                      David Csillan, NJ Sports Medicine Advisory Committee

Douglas.casa@uconn.edu                                                                     njatc5@gmail.com

(860) 486-0265 (office)                                                                         (609) 651-3053 (cell)

 

 

Preventing Sudden Death in Sport– CoxHealth Sports Safety Conference

Brad Endres, ATC, CSCS

Assistant Director of Sports Safety Policies

The prevention of sudden death in sports begins well before a catastrophic injury occurs.

It may be true that heroes are made in how they respond when they are needed most. Many stories throughout the country give testament to the life-saving nature of an appropriate and timely response to medical emergencies in sport. While these stories are indeed uplifting, they are often the result of a great amount of effort dedicated to being prepared in the event of an emergency. During their 2017 Sports Medicine Conference, the Sports Medicine team at CoxHealth exemplified the old adage that “practice makes perfect”, and it was truly a sight to behold. This team, led by Dr. Shannon Woods, was a shining example of how to collaborate with multiple health care providers in order to create, implement, and practice “best-practice” policies and procedures intended to promote athlete safety. KSI was invited to travel to Springfield, MO to take part in the Conference, and it was inspiring to witness the rubber meet the road in regards to the practical application of research.

Throughout the two days of the conference, KSI staff led evidence-based educational sessions on exertional heat illnesses. KSI Vice-President of Communication and Education Dr. Yuri Hosokawa started off the conference on Friday morning with an evidence-based presentation about the prevention, recognition, and treatment of exertional heat illnesses. After the presentation, she led the participants through a practical lab session on the “best-practices” of responding to an individual suffering from exertional heat stroke (EHS).  The participants attending the Friday session of the conference included athletic trainers, coaches, sports medicine physicians, EMS personnel, and school administrators from local area high schools, given that these practical skills would be vital for treating one of their athletes in the event they developed EHS while participating in sports. On Friday afternoon, CoxHealth staff led mock emergency scenarios where participants  were able to gain hands-on practice of what they had learned in the morning. The participants took the scenarios seriously, which led to great discussions during the scenario debriefings. Additionally, the local Springfield news station recorded a news segment about the Conference in order to spread the word about emergency preparedness and athlete safety.

On the final day of the conference, the participants included physical therapists, physicians from other specialties, parents of young athletes, and other interested members of the community. Yuri and I geared our presentations to a slightly different audience, but the message was largely the same: evidence-based policies and procedures can indeed save lives.

Yuri and I were thankful to be invited to the 2017 CoxHealth Sports Medicine Conference, and proud to represent KSI at such an impressive collaborative event. Being in compliance with “best practice” emergency response policies is not always the easiest thing to do, but networks like CoxHealth Sports Medicine are proving that it can be done. Because of their efforts, the athletes they serve will undoubtedly be safe and well cared for.

KSI 6th Annual Fundraising Gala

Gabrielle Giersch, Associate Director of Education and Assistant Director of Athlete Performance and Safety

On May 11th KSI hosted our 6th annual fundraising gala at the NFL headquarters in New York City. Our staff traveled down and were humbled and honored by the incredible turnout and support from those that attended. The efforts of KSI to prevent sudden death and maximize safety and performance were major topics of remarks made throughout the night.

We were honored by the presence of several of our corporate partners who help immensely to making the mission of KSI a reality. It was truly a night for people to come together in joyous support of the work of KSI and their role in it. We were especially excited to welcome heartsmart.com since it was their first KSI event as a corporate partner!

We were able to honor three incredible people with our KSI awards. The 2017 KSI Lifesaving Research Award was presented to R. Dawn Comstock, PhD from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado, the 2017 KSI Lifesaving Service Award was presented to James L. Thornton, ATC from Clarion University, and the 2017 KSI Lifesaving Education Award was presented to Brain Hainline, MD, CMO of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Big congratulations to all award winners!!

As a follow-up from the announcements from the last year’s fundraising gala, it was announced that all proceeds from the 6th annual fundraising gala were going toward the heat lab equipment fund. After some unforeseen circumstances that increased the cost, we have decided to raise additional funds for the lab equipment, instead of compromising the quality of the facility. University of Connecticut generously pledged to offer the account up to $200,000, if KSI can raise $130,000. Donations can be made from our website: https://uconn.givecorps.com/causes/1153-the-korey-stringer-institute-fund

We would like to give a special thanks to the UConn Foundation for assistance in helping the evening run so smoothly. We also cannot thank the attendees enough for traveling to attend the event, proudly showing your support for KSI and our mission, and always being so generous with your time and advocacy.

 

For the photos of the gala please visit the link below:

http://www.lepetitstudio.photos/Events/Korey-Stringer-Institute-6th-Annual-Gala-2017/?platform=hootsuite

 

2017 Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport

William M. Adams, PhD, LAT, ATC Vice President of Sport Safety

March 28-29, 2017 Kansas City, MO

The 3rd annual Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport meeting was held last week in Kansas City, MO that brought over 100 individuals representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia together to continue the task of enhancing the health and safety policies for high school athletics. This meeting, hosted by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and supported by the Korey Stringer Institute and Gatorade, began out of an idea spawned by Drs. Douglas Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM, FNATA, FNAK and Jonathan Drezner, MD to make high school sports safer for the participating athletes.

This years’ meeting was constructed so that the attendees decided on the topics to be discussed. Prior to the meeting, all of the attendees were sent a survey that asked them which topics they would either want to learn more about or have in depth discussions about. From the survey, 16 breakout sessions were formed where the attendees who wanted to learn more about one particular topic were able to come together in small groups to have further discussions.

 

Overall, these breakout sessions were immensely successful as they stimulated many fruitful discussions over the successes, barriers, and other strategies to help develop and implement health and safety policies across the US. It was great to see states that have been successful in implementing change in a certain area (i.e. heat acclimatization) providing feedback and suggestions to states that have not been successful in implementing such policies. These discussions provided great peer-to-peer feedback, which may have been better received for some individuals.

 

Having attended all of Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport meetings over the past three years, it has been amazing to see the efforts taken by leaders within state high school athletics associations and sports medicine advisory committees following the meeting to develop and implement health and safety policies. States like Vermont, Illinois, South Carolina, Utah, New Jersey and many others have taken advantage of these meetings to implement best-practice policies in their state with many crediting the Collaborative Solutions meeting as the event that was the impetus for change.

 

While many states have made great strides in improving the health and safety of their student athletes, others have remained resistant to change and often citing “We haven’t had anything happen in our state, so there is no reason to change.” We must remember that implementing evidence-based minimum best practice policies such as emergency action plans, heat acclimatization, access to AEDs, environmental-based activity modification guidelines and the management of sport related concussion, cost little to no money to implement and there should be no reason not to take the proactive steps to keeping our young student athletes safe.

 

Keeping the forward progress mindset and further cultivating relationships between sports medicine advisory committees, high school athletics associations and coaches with the mindset of having the most up-to-date evidence-based policies in place is needed to ensure that our young athletes are protected while playing the sports that they love.

Athletic Director Meeting on Secondary School Health and Safety

Alicia Pike, Associate Director of Research, KSI

 

In collaboration with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) is conducting a study assessing perceptions of medical care provided at the secondary school level from various key stakeholder groups. These stakeholders are in a position to influence the level of medical care provided to secondary school athletes and include athletic directors, principals, superintendents, parents, coaches, and legislators.

 

As part of this initiative, participants are asked if they would like to take part in a focus group session. The purpose of the focus group, similar to a group discussion, is to gain a more in depth understanding of the participants’ perceptions, and allow them to interact with each other through open dialogue in a non-threatening environment. As the study kicks off, the KSI staff couldn’t think of a better place to hold our first focus group than in Nashville, TN!

 

The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) was holding their National Athletic Director Conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville from December 9th to the 13th. With a meeting made possible by the NATA, we recruited athletic directors for a focus group in support of this research initiative. On December 9th, Christy Eason, a University of Connecticut alum and now Assistant Professor of Athletic Training at Lasell College, and myself, conducted our very first focus group. The meeting was a success and resulted in rich dialogue between athletic directors with diverse backgrounds on various health and safety standards.

 

Dr. Douglas Casa, CEO of KSI, and Dr. Rebecca Stearns, COO of KSI, also made the trip to Nashville and were instrumental in ensuring the success of this meeting. After the focus group session, Rachael Oates, Assistant Executive Director of the NATA, and Amanda Muscatell, NATA External Marketing Manager, spoke about the history of the NATA and its growth over the years, as well as their major marketing initiative, AT Your Own Risk. To finish off the meeting, Dr. Casa presented on best practice standards for preventing sudden death in sport, focusing in on the top safety standards that athletic directors in Tennessee should have in place.

 

This meeting not only provided great insight on athletic directors’ perceptions, but also provided an opportunity to network with a unique group of people. This was only the start, but being a part of this meeting has opened my eyes to the true potential of this research initiative. I am extremely excited to see where it goes from here.

 

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

screen-shot-2016-12-15-at-9-46-58-am

The ATLAS Project: The Start of Something Big

By Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC, VP of Research, VP of Athlete Health and Safety

ATLAS UPDATE

There are countless new and innovative ideas that we have at KSI every day, but every once in a while there is that truly life changing idea. Even as daunting as that idea may seem, there is something deep within your gut, I mean really deep down, that you know can make and impact and is worth doing. The ATLAS Project was one of those ideas for us here at KSI and in true KSI fashion this idea would not be possible without the collaboration of the NATA Secondary School Committee and the members of the NATA.

 

The Athletic Training Locations And Services Project was developed by KSI from the “Athletic Training Services in Public Secondary Schools: A Benchmark Study” with the main goals to:

 

  • Create a real-time database of athletic training services in secondary schools
  • Create a directory for each state’s athletic training association and high school athletics association
  • Assist states in moving toward full-time athletic training services
  • Provide useful data to each state’s athletic training association and high school athletic association
  • Identify common factors associated with increased athletic training services across the country
  • Provide data to assist with legislative efforts to improve healthcare for high school athletes

Since its official launch in January, over 4,500 surveys have been taken by Secondary School Athletic Trainers all across the country. The Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association has the largest percentage of high school athletic trainers who have taken the ATLAS Survey closely followed by Mid-America Mid-Atlantic and Southwest Athletic Training Associations as depicted below. In terms of raw number of surveys California leads with 220 surveys taken and Pennsylvania is in close second with 203 surveys. However, if we look at percentage of surveys taken, District of Columbia, New Mexico, and Utah are in the lead with 80%, 71%, and 55% respectively.

Picture0

Currently KSI uses Zeemapsä by Zeesource to map each states’ Athletic Training services and we are proud to say that Vermont and Maine were the first two states to be 100% mapped. Delaware, District of Columbia, Rhode Island and Wyoming are all within 40 schools of being 100% mapped and additional efforts in those states by KSI and their athletic training associations are being made as we speak.
Picture1   Picture2

Picture3  Picture4

Recently Robert Huggins PhD, LAT, ATC and Larry Cooper, NATA Secondary School Committee Chair, presented the ATLAS project data at the Collaborative Solutions For Safety In Sport Meeting held at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis and will also be discussing this with Athletic Trainers at the NATA Symposium next week in Baltimore where they hope the project will continue to gain more momentum so be sure to stop by booth #2057 at the NATA Expo to map your high school!

Upcoming Scientific Presentations

By Sarah Attanasio, Assistant Director of Research

Upcoming Presentations

Come visit and engage with the KSI staff members at the upcoming annual NATA and ACSM Conferences. Find out which members are presenting, where and about what can you expect to learn from each presentation below.

 

The American College of Sports Medicine 63rd Annual Meeting- May 31- June 4th 2016- Boston MA

 

William Adams, PhD, ATC– Thematic Poster

“Thirst as a Marker of Hydration Status During and After Exercise in the Heat”

Date: Wednesday, 6/1; 1:00-3:00pm

 

Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Assessing Warm Weather Race Preparedness Using the Heat Stress Score”

Date: Thursday, 6/2; 2-3:30pm

 

Lesley Vandermark, PhD, ATC, EMT, PES– Poster Presentation

“Beverage Content Influences Voluntary Fluid Intake During Exercise: A Systematic Review”

Date: Thursday, 6/2; 2-3:30pm

 

Douglas Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM, FNATA– President’s Lecture

“Preventing Sudden Death in Sports and Physical Activity: The Struggles (and Successes) to Implement Evidence into Clinical Practice”

Date: Thursday, 6/2; 10:30- 11:20am

 

Douglas Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM, FNATA– Symposium

“Preventing, Recognizing, and Treating Exertional Heat Stroke at Endurance Events”

Date: Thursday, 6/2; 9:20-9:45am

 

Samantha Scarneo, MS, ATC– Free Communication/Slide

“Lower Extremity Injury Risk in Youth Female Basketball Athletes with and without a History of Concussion”

Date: Friday, 6/3; 1:00-3:00pm

 

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association 67th Clinical Symposia and Expo- June 22-25th 2016- Baltimore MD

 

William Adams,  PhD, ATC– Minicourse

“Developing and Implementing Evidence-Based Best Practice and Procedure for the Prevention of Sudden Death in Sport”

Date: Wednesday 6/22; 5:15-6:15pm

 

Lesley Vandermark, PhD, ATC, EMT, PES– Free Communication Oral Presentation

“Investigation of Provisional Medical Care in the Public Secondary School Setting”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 9:15-10:15am

 

Rachel Vanscoy, MS, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Does The Shortened Environmental Symptoms Questionnaire Accurately Represent Physiological Adaptations Following a 10 Day Heat Acclimation Protocol?”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:15-12:00pm

 

Rachel Katch, MS, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Use of the Heat Stress Score to Predict Preparedness to Run in an Outdoor, Warm Weather Race”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

 

William Adams, PhD, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Policy Changes Reduce Exertional Sickling Related Deaths in Division I Collegiate Football Players”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

 

Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Tarp-Assisted Cooling is an Effective Method of Whole Body Cooling in Hyperthermic Individuals”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

 

Luke Belval, MS, ATC, CSCS– Poster Presentation

“Efficacy of a Novel Cooling Vest Following Exercise-Induced Hyperthermia”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

 

Sarah Attanasio, BS– Poster Presentation

“Occurrence of Exertional Heat Stroke in High School Football Athletes Before and After Implementation of Evidence-Based Heat Acclimatization Guidelines”

Date: Thursday 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

 

Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC– Feature Presentation

“Malignant Hyperthermia in Physically Active Populations”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 1:30- 3:30pm

 

Alicia Pike, MS, ATC– Oral presentation

“Private Secondary Schools Use Various Individuals When Providing Medical Coverage”

Date: Friday, 6/24; 10-10:15am

 

Rebecca Stearns PhD, ATC– Special Topic

“Protein’s Effectiveness As An Ingredient in Hydration Beverages”

Date: Saturday 6/25; 10:45-11:45am

 

 

5th Annual Korey Stringer Institute Gala and Fundraiser

By Alicia Pike, Assistant Director of Youth Sport Safety

KSI Gala 2016

The 5th Annual Korey Stringer Institute Gala and Fundraiser was held this past Thursday evening, May 5th, at the NFL Headquarters. Every year we are in awe of the immense support received from colleagues, friends, and family, and this year’s Gala was no exception. The night started by greeting guests and catching up with those who traveled near and far to attend the event, but this was not just a night for socializing. After welcoming remarks from Jeff Miller, Senior Vice President of Health and Safety Policy for the NFL, guests got to hear from James Gould, Chairman of the advisory board for the Korey Stringer Institute, Jeff Seemann, Vice President for Research at the University of Connecticut, and Kelci Stringer, Founder and Spokesperson of KSI. All emphasized the impact that KSI has had on spreading knowledge and advocacy to prevent sudden death in athletes, soldiers, and laborers both locally and nationally.

We are able to achieve this mission through the immense support of passionate, motivated people, especially our corporate partners, many of whom were in attendance. It was an exciting night for the KSI staff, as two announcements were made that will undoubtedly maximize the potential for research opportunities and more. Josh Shaw, Founder and CEO of Mission Athletecare, proudly announced the building of a state of the art heat chamber and performance lab on UConn’s campus. To add to the exciting news, Scott Sailor, President of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), announced an established partnership between the NATA and KSI, which will result in collaborative research efforts and opportunities.

This was also a night of recognition. Every year, KSI acknowledges three leaders in the realms of research, service, and education who have had a significant impact on health and safety for athletes and the physically active.  The 2016 KSI Lifesaving Research Award was awarded to Frederick Mueller, former Director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. Through his research, he reduced the number of football fatalities and catastrophic injuries in high school and college sports. Rachael Oats, Associate Executive Director of the NATA, received the 2016 KSI Lifesaving Service Award. In addition to being a key advocate for KSI, Rachael has been involved in a vast number of projects and meetings, served on countless committees, and has volunteered hours of her time to advance health and safety initiatives and promote the prevention of sudden death in sport and physical activity. The final award, KSI Lifesaving Education Award, was presented to Lawrence Armstrong, distinguished professor in the Department of Kinesiology at UConn and President of the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Armstrong has dedicated years to teaching and research, primarily focused on the effects of dehydration on cognitive functioning and exercise performance, as well as factors impacting thermoregulation and physiological strain.

It was another unforgettable night spent with colleagues, friends, and family who all share and support the same passion for preventing sudden death in the physically active. To those who traveled to attend, some traveling across the country to show support, we cannot thank you enough. It is your continued encouragement, advocacy and support that allow KSI to grow, thrive and save lives.

 

 

 

 

Youth Sport Safety Governing Bodies Meeting

By Samantha Scarneo, MS, ATC, Director of Youth Sport Safety

2016 YSSGB Meeting Photo

Last week, KSI had the honor of hosting the second annual Youth Sport Safety Governing Bodies meeting with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Jones & Bartlett Learning, and Kestrel, at the National Football League Headquarters, in New York, NY. The goal of this meeting was to improve health and safety standards at the youth sport level. In last years’ meeting the goal was to educate the youth sport governing bodies on top causes of sudden death in sport This years goal was to create a consensus document to serve as a best practices document for all governing bodies and its members to strive towards. This consensus document touches on the top causes of sudden death in sport and polices & procedures of how to improve these safety standards. The attendees of this years meeting included:

Michael Clayton – USA Wrestling

George Chiampas, DO – US Soccer

Elizabeth Chaffin, DPT, ATC and Alexis Colvin, MD– USTA

Lynn Moskovitz-Thompson – USA Gymnastics

Bruce Griffin, PhD – US Lacrosse

Kevin Margarucci, ATC – USA Hockey

Steve Alic – USA Football

Jack Ransone, Phd, ATC – USA Track and Field.

We also had the honor of having key representatives from the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine (Matthew Gammons, MD), National Athletic Trainers Association (Scott Sailor EdD, ATC, Tim Weston Med, ATC, AJ Duffy MS, ATC, PT, Rachael Oats CAE, Katie Scott, MS, ATC), American Academy of Pediatrics (Cynthia LaBella, MD) and Safe Kids Worldwide (Kate Carr, Ali Flury).

P1150359

The meeting was moderated by some of the KSI staff (including Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC, Doug Casa, PhD, ATC, Rebecca Stearns, PhD, ATC, Samm Scarneo, MS, ATC, Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC, Lesley Vandermark, MS, ATC, Luke Belval, BS, ATC, and Ryan Curtis, MS, ATC) and was largely discussion based to create a best practice consensus. The first day of the meeting focused on cardiac conditions, emergency action plans, and exertional heat stroke. The second day was moderated identical to the first and focused on head injuries, medical personnel and other conditions (asthma, anaphylaxis, and lightning).

P1150295

One of the unique aspects of this meeting is that all of the governing bodies have strong and weak points in different areas. For example, one organization may have extraordinary policies in place for heat acclimatization yet may be very weak in an area of emergency action plans. However, despite the various levels of safety attained by each organization, all attendees had a strong will to improve standards across the board. Dr. Huggins called this meeting “one of the most important meetings that he has been to in his career.” We are hopeful that consensus document will provide a template for all leaders of youth organizations, and their members, to expand health and safety standards for the athletes.

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”