Sport Safety International Launches Concussion Instructor Program
Wayne, NJ (PRWEB) June 12, 2014 -- Having educated over 93,000 people from 23 countries in over 120,000 online sport safety courses since 2011, Sport Safety International announced today that it has launched a new initiative that a will arm those who provide concussion education with new tools to get the job done.
The Concussion Wise ™ Instructor program is the first comprehensive, nationally standardized concussion education program in the United States that is specifically designed to prepare instructors to educate coaches, parents and athletes about the prevention and initial care of sports related concussion.
“There is an overabundance of informational material available in print and online regarding concussion prevention and management,” says Dr. Robb Rehberg, co-founder of Sport Safety International and creator of the ConcussionWise program. “However, to date there are no standardized programs designed to prepare those responsible for educating coaches, parents, and athletes that ensure current, accurate and consistent information is being used.” Rehberg says all Concussion Wise ™ courses are based on the latest recommendations and guidelines, including those developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, National Athletic Trainers’ Association, American Academy of Neurology, and the recommendations from the 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport (Zurich 2012).
Think CPR training, but for Concussion Rehberg sees many parallels between concussion education and early CPR education, citing that concussion management and CPR are both based on universally accepted recommendations and guidelines that are reviewed periodically by experts, and updated based on the latest research. “For over 40 years, the delivery of standardized, consistent education how to respond to a cardiac emergency has been delivered quite effectively through standardized education programs delivered by trained CPR instructors, and as a result, many lives have been saved,” Rehberg says. What we’ve done is taken the CPR instructor model and used it to create a program through which instructors can offer standardized concussion education without having to piece together a course on their own. We believe this result will be course participants who are better prepared to prevent, recognize, and provide initial care for athletes suffering from concussion. Think CPR training, but for concussion prevention and management.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 173,285 sports and recreation related traumatic brain injuries sustained by children and adolescents are treated in emergency departments in the United States each year. In response to the growing concern over concussion in youth athletes, laws designed to help prevent and properly manage sports related concussions have been enacted in all 50 states. Education of coaches, parents, athletes and coaches is an important component of the laws. The concern over concussions prompted President Obama to hold a summit on sports safety and concussions at the White House late last month.
Rehberg says that after successfully completing the instructor program, Concussion Wise ™ Instructors are authorized to teach using the Concussion Wise ™ Live video and presentation materials, which are based on the organization’s popular online courses of the same name. Additionally, all course participants receive a certificate of completion. Coaches who complete the program are also eligible to be listed on the Concussion Wise ™ Registry, an online searchable database of coaches who are Concussion Wise ™ trained.
The first Concussion Wise ™ Instructor program will be held on June 25th in Indianapolis, the site of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association 65th Clinical Symposia and AT Expo. For more information on the Concussion Wise ™ Instructor program, visit http://www.ConcussionWise.com.
About Sport Safety International: Founded in 2011, the mission of Sport Safety International is to promote safe participation in sport and physical activity through education.
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Michael Prybicien, Sport Safety International, http://www.SportSafetyInternational.org, +1 (888) 444-8754 Ext: 11, [email protected]
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