Concussion Information
MVRCS Concussion Policy
- It has been decided that the School Director or his designee and Athletic Director shall be responsible for the implementation of the MVRCS Concussion Policy.
- The Athletic Director, School Nurse, Coaches, designated Volunteers, Band Director and Athletic Trainers, must take the NFHS Concussion in Sports Course every year. Each person’s Certificate of Completion of this course will be kept on file in the Athletic Office. This course is accessible through the MVRCS Website at www.mvrcs.org. Every student wishing to participate in athletics and a parent/guardian must also take this course. They must then sign paperwork that states that they have done so.
- Any student wishing to participate in athletics must have documentation of a physical examination on file in the Nurse’s Office that is within 13 months of the start date of the sport season in which they wish to participate. If a student does not have this documentation on file, they will not be granted permission to participate in athletics.
- The school’s athletic permission slip, which includes a student’s past medical history (specifically past head injuries and concussions), must be filled out completely and returned to the Athletic Office a week prior to the start of a sport season. This form is reviewed and signed off on by the School Nurse before clearance is granted.
- When a coach suspects that a student has suffered a head injury or concussion, that student is to be removed from practice or competition immediately. If a coach determines that the student needs immediate medical attention, they are to call 911 immediately. They then need to call a parent/guardian of that student and inform them of the situation. If immediate medical attention is determined not to be needed, then the student should be monitored by a coach. The coach calls the parent/guardian, informs them of the situation, and recommends that the student be picked up by the parent and taken to the hospital for evaluation. Coaches then call the Athletic Director to inform him of the situation. The coach then needs to fill out an Accident Report and a DPH Report of Head Injury Form and submit it to the Athletic Office before school the next morning. The Athletic Director goes over the submitted forms with the School Nurse and Principal. The School Nurse will contact the parent to get an update on that student. The School Nurse informs all of the student’s teachers and lets them know what accommodations need to be made for that child.
- After a concussion is diagnosed, that student is prohibited from any extra-curricular athletic activity until a note signed by a doctor and the DPH Return to Activity Form filled out and signed by a doctor, is submitted to the School Nurse.
- When a student is cleared to return to activity, the School Nurse will contact the physician that signed off on that student’s DPH Return to Activity Form, and will obtain a post-concussion graduated reentry plan for academic and extracurricular activity for that student. The School Nurse will communicate that plan with the parent/guardian of that student. The school will follow that plan, and the parent/guardian is expected to follow that plan as well.
- There is an email sent to all families in the school about the pre-season sports meetings. There are also announcements made at school about the meetings. Pre-season sports meeting information is also posted on the school website. At the meeting, the annual training requirement, the procedure to notify parents of a head injury, the protocol for obtaining medical clearance for return to play and academics after a concussion, parent’s responsibility for completion of the pre-participation form, and the parent’s responsibility for completion of the DPH Report of Head Injury Form, are all covered. All of this information is available on the school website. The DPH Report of Head Injury Form and the Return to Activity Form are available on the school website. The pre-participation form can be picked up in the Main Offices of the high school or lower school. The NFHS Concussion in Sports Course is also shown at the pre-season meetings.
- The MVRCS Concussion Policy will be included in the Student/Parent Handbook and can be found on the school website.
- Students are made aware that if their parent/guardian does not speak English, they need to set up a meeting with the Athletic Director. The Athletic Director will make arrangements to have a translator at that meeting to go over everything that is necessary for their child to participate in athletics.
- Parents of students that do not return completed forms will be contacted by phone by the school nurse or athletic director. Parents are also notified by telephone if any part of the annual training is not completed. (This only applies to students that have signed up for a sport or students that have partial information submitted.)
- Only the people that need to know about an athlete’s medical history will get the necessary information. This includes coaches, teachers, the principal, school nurse, and athletic director.
- In the pre-season coaches meeting, coaches are instructed to teach form, techniques, and skills and promote protective equipment use to minimize head injury, and to prohibit athletes from engaging in any unreasonably dangerous athletic techniques that endangers the health and safety of an athlete.
- Failure to comply with the MVRCS Concussion Policy could result in termination from position on a team or as a coach.
To take the NFHS Concussion in Sports Course please click on this link http://www.nfhslearn.com/electiveDetail.aspx?courseID=38000 .
If your son/daughter has sustained a concussion outside of a school activity during the current sport season, you must fill out the DPH Report of Head Injury Form, and turn it into the Athletic Office as soon as possible after the injury.
If a student-athlete has sustained a head injury or concussion, they must have the DPH Head Injury Medical Clearance Form filled out by a duly licensed physician and turned into the Athletic Office in order to return to participation.
