Gwinnett Medical, Gwinnett Schools team up to provide free concussion baseline testing

An estimated thousand Metro Atlanta students and adults received free concussion baseline tests provided by the Concussion Institute at Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth and Gwinnett County Public Schools. The testing event, Concussion Baseline Testing Day, was held at 13 Gwinnett high schools on Saturday.

Concussions are serious brain injuries that change the way the brain normally works. Many people believe concussions happen only during high impact sports, when in reality they can occur simply from a bump to the head.

GMC’s Concussion Institute, the leader of concussion treatment in the Southeast, paired with ImPACT, a computer-based neurocognitive test, to provide the free testing to hundreds who came out on Saturday. The testing event allowed community members to take advantage of a tool which is an indicator in concussion treatment and recovery. The event was one of the community benefits Gwinnett Medical Center provides based on the hospital’s larger commitment to the north metro area.

“When you’re on the field, you can’t play in constant fear of injury, but you can be proactive and protect yourself with a baseline test,” said David Greene, former University of Georgia quarterback, GMC Concussion Advisory Board Charter Member and Gwinnett-native.

Baseline tests are conducted when an individual is in good health and at rest to provide a look at how the brain works before an injury has ever happened. Having this healthy-brain baseline data allows medical professionals to accurately assess and better treat the damage done when a concussion occurs.

“Having that pre-injury data of how the brain works is invaluable when treating a concussion patient. It allows us to understand how the brain is functioning before anything happens, and that helps us to diagnose the severity of the injury, and create a map to recovery,” said neuropsychologist David Schwartz, PhD. Dr. Schwartz specializes in assessment and treatment of concussions and traumatic brain injury, neurorehabilitation and intervention in learning and educational issues.

The ImPACT baseline test looks at five areas of neurocognitive functioning: verbal memory, visual memory, visual-motor speed, reaction time and impulse control.

To learn more about the Concussion Institute and ImPACT testing, visit gwinnettmedicalcenter.org/concussion or call 678-312-7880.