Gaylord Specialty Healthcare To Present Concussion Conference at Quinnipiac University; May 7

Gaylord's Center for Concussion Care is the lead sponsor for “The Concussion Conference Connecticut: Return to School then Return to Play,” hosted by Quinnipiac University from8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, in the Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences on the North Haven Campus, 370 Bassett Road.

The conference will provide basic and advanced concussion management training for pediatricians, athletic trainers, parents and school staff, including nurses, psychologists, guidance counselors, special education and 504 coordinators, on how to best help children return to school and continue to heal after concussions.

The conference is being offered following a highly successful concussion conference held in January at Quinnipiac, where 78 school nurses, 25 physicians and 25 athletic trainers attended and requested more concussion management training. The May conference will offer advanced training with case studies for those who attended the January conference and basic foundation session for new participants.

“While there is no magic helmet to prevent concussions or medical cure, Connecticut schools and parents are not powerless,” said Katherine Snedaker who founded TheConcussionConference.com, SportsCAPP.com and PinkConcussions.com. “Research now shows that proper concussion management at home and at school can really help students recover. This conference will provide the training needed by school nurses, doctors and parents to manage concussions with best practices and the most current medical information.”

The conference will feature nationally known experts and panels of local concussion professionals, including pediatricians, physical therapists, neuropsychologists and advocates for brain injury prevention.

In addition to Snedaker and experts from Gaylord Specialty Healthcare’s Center for Concussion Care, the speakers include:

- Dr. Mike Lee

- Dr. Tricia McDonough-Ryan

- Dr. Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools and Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference

- Deb Shulansky of the Brain Injury Alliance of Connecticut

- Paul Slager, brain injury attorney and board member of the Brain Alliance of Connecticut

- Dr. Thomas Trojian

- Dr. David Wang

- Charlie Wund, founder and president of the Agency for Student Health Research

Each conference participant will be trained and learn the framework for creating a concussion management team. “The purpose of the concussion management team is to handle 80 percent of concussions that resolve in the first month, based on research and nationally recognized best practices,” Snedaker said. “For concussions lasting longer than four weeks, academic accommodations will be taught, which can be created in a student’s individualized education plan or a 504 plan for these students.”

To learn more about each conference session and to register, please visit www.TheConcussionConference.com. 

About Gaylord Specialty Healthcare:

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare (GSH), headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut is a not-for profit long-term 137 bed acute care hospital that specializes in the care and treatment of people with medically complex and intensive rehabilitation issues. Gaylord also operates outpatient therapy centers in Wallingford and North Haven, and sleep medicine centers in Glastonbury, Guilford, North Haven and Trumbull. For latest news or more information go to their website at www.gaylord.org. 

About Quinnipiac:

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 6,500 full-time undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students in 58 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business and Engineering, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges issue. The 2014 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s “The Best 377 Colleges.” The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Quinnipiac among the “Great Colleges to Work For.” For more information, please visit www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.