School Board Adopts New Head Injury Procedure

Cranford became the first district in New Jersey to adopt a new head injury management policy for student athletes last week.

Under the new policy, a certified athletic trainer will perform initial evaluations and follow up evaluations for at least the first 24 hours following a sustained injury. Athletes would only be permitted to return to action after seeing a physician and being asymptomatic for seven days.

Dr. Gayle Carrick, superintendent of Cranford Public Schools, said the policy was “a natural follow-up to our efforts to pre assess and to follow-up with our athletes” and not the result of a specific injury-related incident, but “rather increasing awareness, improved technology and a concern for our students.”

Though Cranford is the first district to formally adopt such policy, Carrick did not expect it to be alone for long.

“I am confident that there will be many more such policies in the making,” she said at the Monday Board of Education meeting.

Marc Taglieri, athletic director for Cranford High School, said the policy is the first of its kind in Cranford and that previously the decision regarding a student’s injury and ability to return to active play was the subject of a physician’s approval.

“We wanted to set something in place that took the subjectivity out of it,” Taglieri said. “Our primary concern is and always will be the safety of our kids. This is another way to ensure that.”

He described the policy as “concrete protocol” for school officials, parents and team physicians to follow.

Students also would be required to take Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) with the athletic trainer 48-72 hours after sustaining the injury.

The policy also details procedures if a student athlete suffers two concussions in one season. Any athlete in this category would be referred to a psycho-neurological evaluation and medical exam.

Parents and the school nurse would be notified of any significant injuries in order to provide the student accommodations at school and a treatment plan outside of the classroom.

According Carrick the importance of the policy, first and foremost is upholding standards to ensure student safety.

“The guiding principle behind Cranford’s head injury management policy is the protection of our students,” Carrick said.

The primary benefit of the new proposal, she said, is the ability to assess student’s condition and ensure they return to the field only when they are medically able.

“Fortunately, we have learned and now have access to more information about head injury than we have had in the past. This knowledge provides us with greater opportunity to keep our students safe, particularly while on the playing field,” she said.

The process to implement the policy began last year when the district purchased equipment to initiate administration of baseline neuropsychological assessments every two years regardless of whether the student has suffered a concussion in the past.

This testing is administered to prospective student athletes prior to participation, Carrick added.

The plan was drafted by the members of school policy committee included school physician Dr. Michael Beams; Taglieri; Dmitry Chervinsky, athletic trainer and Chris Ahern, CHS nurse as well as Board of Education members Michael Caulfield, Robin Woglom, Jill Brown, Mary Venditti and Dr. James McLaughlin, assistant superintendent.