Jan 29, 2015

Michigan Revises Concussion Observation Policy

Michigan has announced changes to its medical policy to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future. The first is that a medical professional will be present in a press box or video booth to communicate with medical personnel on the field, the second is that the school will look into its sideline communication procedures.
“In my judgment, there was a serious lack of communication that led to confusion on the sideline,” Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said in a statement released early Tuesday morning. “Unfortunately, this confusion created a circumstance that was not in the best interest of one of our student-athletes. I sincerely apologize for the mistakes that were made. We have to learn from this situation, and moving forward, we will make important changes so we can fully live up to our shared goal of putting student-athlete safety first.” – See more at: http://btn.com/2014/09/30/michigan-announces-changes-to-medical-policy-in-wake-of-shane-morris-hit/#sthash.nHmllFWc.dpuf

Here is how Brandon’s statement recounts the incident: “In the fourth quarter, Shane took a significant hit and stumbled after getting up. From the field level and without the benefit of replays, medical and coaching staffs did not see the hit. Because they did not see the hit, the athletic training staff believed Shane stumbled because of his ankle injury. The team neurologist, watching from further down the field, also did not see the hit. However, the neurologist, with expertise in detecting signs of concussion, saw Shane stumble and determined he needed to head down the sideline to evaluate Shane. “Shane came off the field after the following play and was reassessed by the head athletic trainer for the ankle injury. Since the athletic trainer had not seen the hit to the chin and was not aware that a neurological evaluation was necessary, he cleared Shane for one additional play. “The neurologist and other team physicians were not aware that Shane was being asked to return to the field, and Shane left the bench when he heard his name called and went back into the game. Under these circumstances, a player should not be allowed to re-enter the game before being cleared by the team physician. This clearly identifies the need for improvements in our sideline and communication processes.” – See more at: http://btn.com/2014/09/30/michigan-announces-changes-to-medical-policy-in-wake-of-shane-morris-hit/#sthash.nHmllFWc.dpuf

– See more at: http://btn.com/2014/09/30/michigan-announces-changes-to-medical-policy-in-wake-of-shane-morris-hit/#sthash.nHmllFWc.dpuf