Brain Injury Law Blog : Head Injury : Coma : Personal Injury : Las Vegas Nevada Lawyer & Attorney Tim Titolo

Following up on the recent post on this blog about traumatic brain injury in sports and repetitive injury, the Las Vegas Review Journal devoted a lengthy article on what Clark County Public Schools are doing to protect its athletes.

All too often, student athletes are put back into play with an unresolved concussion.  This becomes a repetitive injury situation where pugilistic Parkinson's develops later in life.  Emphasis in professional sport brain injury in boxing and football has trickled down into the high school and college setting.

 "The school district's procedure issued in August 2008 expanded rules for head injury management that were already in place. The procedure states that an athlete who has suffered a concussion cannot return to practice or competition until having clearance from a physician, an approved score on a computerized neurocognitive test called ImPACT..."

"Schools around the country have begun using the ImPACT assessment to help gauge an athlete's recovery from a concussion. Clark County athletic trainers said the test is invaluable."...

Photo by DAVID STROUD/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

"Freshmen athletes in the school district are charged a $5 fee to take the test. The initial exam is called a "baseline test" because results are compared to a later test the athlete takes after they have suffered a concussion.

The test consists of six components: word memory, design memory, X's and O's matching, matching shapes to numbers, matching colors and counting backwards from 25 to 1 while remembering letters."  These tests are similar, on a summary level,  to full battery neuropsychological testing done by experts in that field.

Congress voted to set Federal Guidelines for managing concussions in student athletes.  The bill, known as Concussion Treatment and Care Tools Act, requires a government organized conference within two years for medical and athletic officials to set the guidelines.

University of Nevada Las Vegas is also making concussion awareness a priority.  

"In April, the NCAA Executive Committee adopted a policy requiring schools to have a concussion management plan that required the removal of an athlete who showed any signs of a concussion in practice or an event.

UNLV, meanwhile, is in its fourth year of administering a neurocognitive test to its athletes similar to the one used in local high schools, said Kyle Wilson, UNLV's director of athletics training.

'One of the big problems is, if someone has a head injury, you can't see that,' Wilson said. 'That's why we've incorporated some of the 'baseline' testing.'

Comparison of baseline with post injury status is the key to understanding when and when not to put a player back into play.  This is true of all brain injury however is not always available.  In other words, in known risk activity such as contact sports, blast injury, getting baseline cognitive testing is a somewhat prophylactic effort.  But in cases of car accident, fall and other less risky activity, likely brain injury is not expected and no baseline neurocognitive testing is available.

Local neuropsychologists, Thomas Kinsora, Ph.D. and Staci Ross, Ph.D., helped develop the ImPACT test used in high schools and run Sports Concussion Specialists of Nevada.  They believe the baseline testing is crucial because of the variability of symptoms in brain injury. 

 

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Brain Injury Association of America notes The House of Representatives is set to vote on the Senate health care reform bill at the end of this week.

Call Your Representative NOW – The House will Vote on Health Care Reform this Week!

The House of Representatives is set to vote on the Senate health care reform bill at the end of this week. If the measure fails, the hope of health care reform will likely vanish for this year and maybe even for years to come.

Even though the House and Senate have both passed their versions of health care reform, the only way forward for the bill is for the House to approve the Senate version.

Your voice matters now more than ever. Call TOLL FREE 1-888-876-6242, if you don’t know who your representative is, click here.

Tell your representative that you are a constituent that is concerned about health care reform.  Specifically, people that have sustained brain injuries need health care reform because:

• Millions with health insurance are now at the mercy of insurance companies that charge premiums beyond affordability.  The legislation would limit these increases.
• Many with insurance find that it won't cover them when they get sick - even after they have paid premiums for years.  The legislation will ban denials based on pre-existing conditions in children and adults.
• Patients who reach their lifetime insurance cap after a catastrophic injury or illness will be able to continue treatment in order to regain functionality and have a better chance of returning to work or school.  The bill will eliminate lifetime insurance limits.

AND...

Investing money now will save the government millions of dollars later when the private insurance companies are required to take responsibility for the premiums they collect instead of turning individuals facing catastrophic injury or illness away to rely on public plans and ultimately, the American taxpayers.

Some representatives in the House are debating on whether to vote for or against the bill. Regardless of how they voted in the past, many are still waying their options.  This measure is vital to the brain injury community, and we need your help to ensure that people with brain injury gain access to the care that they need and deserve!  CALL NOW!

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The Brain Injury Assocation of America posted this Health Care Reform Update.  Yesterday, President Obama and members of Congress and the Senate, Republican and Democrat, met to hash out a Health Care Reform Bill.  American Association of Justice President, Anthony Tarricone, appeared on Anderson Cooper 360: http://www.vimeo.com/9761801

Health Care Reform Update

On February 22, 2010, in the wake of the legislative hold put on Congress after the recent Massachusetts election, the White House released an 11-page health care overhaul proposal that would extend coverage to more than 31 million people, at a 10-year cost of $950 billion. The White House says that the cost would be offset by spending reductions and tax increases, resulting in $100 billion of deficit reduction. CQ

Also this week, a bipartisan summit convened to discuss the administration’s health care plan. The White House facilitated the six-hour summit to focus on controlling costs, overhauling insurance regulations, reducing the deficit and expanding health coverage. 

The group of 40 representatives and senators agreed on a new set of baseline insurance regulations but were still at odds about things like the cost of insurance premiums, patient choice issues, and deficit calculations. 

BIAA is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to advocate for a health care reform plan that will provide people with brain injury access to the full continuum of care that they need and deserve.

Brain Injury Awareness Month

As most of you already know, March is brain injury awareness month! BIAA will be unveiling its 2010 legislative agenda on Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Fact sheets outlining the agenda for this year including, access to care for both civilian and military populations, TBI Act and research funding, TBI Act reauthorization, caregiver assistance, and support for the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force will be available on our website starting Tuesday!

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Appropriations Action on Federal TBI Programs Just Around The Corner

Over the next few weeks, both the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees will be working to craft the FY 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education Appropriations bill, which will provide the funding allocation for programs authorized through the TBI Act and for NIDRR's TBI-related research programs, including TBI Model Systems of Care.

Federal funding for these important TBI programs has remained stagnant over the last several years, as Congress has not provided increases sufficient to keep up with the increasing cost of doing business. The urgent need for increased federal support for a national TBI public health infrastructure and TBI research is further heightened by the recognition of TBI as the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With a new Administration in power, and a renewed focus on improving the nation's health care system, the need to adequately fund TBI programs must be clearly communicated to Members of Congress IMMEDIATELY.

To urge your representatives in Congress to increase funding for TBI programs this year, click this "Take Action" link.
 

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