KATV Channel 7 - The Spirit of Arkansas: Blue & You Foundation Donates $112,000 to Arkansas Children’s Hospital

LITTLE ROCK, AR. (JAN. 20, 2010) – The Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation announced today that it has been awarded a $112,000 grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas. The grant, to be used by the ACH Research Institute, will help implement neurocognitive testing (described as a physical for the brain) for sports concussions at 70 high schools across the state.

More than 1,000 student athletes in Arkansas sustain concussions each year. Once thought to be a simple injury, a concussion is now recognized as a serious injury that could result in long-term brain damage.

Neurocognitive testing is the newest method used to evaluate and treat athletes who sustain concussions. A baseline test is done at the beginning of each athletic season, and in the event that a student receives a concussion, the post-test scores can be compared with the baseline results.

"In professional and college athletics, neurocognitive testing is considered standard of care in the treatment of concussions," says Dr. J. Darrell Nesmith, a physician in the Sports Medicine Plus program at the Adolescent Center at Arkansas Children's Hospital. Nesmith is also an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine. "Thanks to this grant from the Blue & You Foundation, we can bring this testing to 70 high schools across Arkansas."

The grant will fund a training of certified sports trainers, coaches, physical therapists and students working with high schools sports teams across the state. These individuals will bring the neurocognitive testing program back to their schools, implementing the program to help students.

Researchers hope having access to this new technology will increase the confidence of athletic trainers' in their ability to take care of concussed athletes, and  be valued enough by school districts that they continue the programs themselves in subsequent years.

"Eventually, we want to grow this project to all schools in the state," says Dr. Nesmith. "We hope that stakeholders, including school personnel and administration, coaches, parent teacher associations, will value the programs such that they will continue the testing programs. Moreover, this project will provide preliminary data and experience that might lead to future funding."

Arkansas Children's Hospital is the only pediatric medical center in Arkansas and one of the largest in the United States serving children from birth to age 21. The campus spans 28 city blocks and houses 316 beds, a staff of approximately 500 physicians, 80 residents in pediatrics and pediatric specialties and more than 4,000 employees. The private, nonprofit health care facility boasts an internationally renowned reputation for medical breakthroughs and intensive treatments, unique surgical procedures and forward-thinking medical research - all dedicated to fulfilling our mission of enhancing, sustaining and restoring children's health and development. ACH recently ranked No. 85 on FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®. For more information, visit www.archildrens.org.

ACHRI provides a research environment on the ACH campus to meet the needs of the UAMS faculty.  Research scientists at ACHRI conduct clinical, basic science, and health services research for the purpose of treating illnesses, preventing disease and improving the health of children everywhere.