New Concussion Tools Teach Parents about Concussion and Helmet Safety

ATLANTA – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year more than 170,000 young athletes go to their local emergency department for a suspected sports- or recreation-related traumatic brain injury, including concussion. Parents and coaches play a key role in helping to keep kids and teens safe from concussions and other serious brain injuries, as well as knowing how to respond when they happen.

To help address this important public health problem, the CDC Foundation, in partnership with CDC, has launched the Heads Up to Parents website and app. These new and free online resources were created through a grant to the CDC Foundation from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) and offer a host of useful tools for parents, coaches and others working with kids and teens.

The Heads Up to Parents website offers:

• Videos – Watch personal stories shared by teens, parents and professional athletes, as well as expert advice on concussion and information on the proper way to fit a helmet.
• Customizable Fact Sheets – Check out the latest materials and tools from CDC’s Heads Up initiative that parents can customize with their child’s or teen’s team or school logo and colors.
• Tools and Tips – Help others become involved in their community by educating and keeping kids and teens safe from concussion – both on and off the sports field.
• Trainings – Take one of several online training courses for sports coaches and health care professionals.

The new Heads Up app features:

• Helmet Selector – Check out information on size, fit, care, and when to replace a helmet.
• Brain Injury Basics – Get quick information on how to spot a concussion, and what to do if you think your child or teen has a concussion or other serious brain injury. 
• Safety Tips – Read pointers on how to help keep kids and teens safe from brain injuries and other injuries at home, school and play.

“These resources expand knowledge of the best ways to help protect kids and teens from brain injuries – and what can be done if a parent or coach suspects one may have already happened,” said Charles Stokes, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “We are grateful to CDC for their efforts to help our youth live safe and healthy lives and to NOCSAE for their partnership in this important initiative.”

Learn more at www.cdcfoundation.org/HeadsUp.

About the CDC Foundation
Established by Congress, the CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) do more, faster, by forging effective partnerships between CDC and corporations, foundations and individuals to support CDC’s 24/7 work to fight threats to health and safety. The CDC Foundation manages approximately 200 CDC-led programs in the United States and in countries around the world. Learn more at www.cdcfoundation.org.

About CDC’s Heads Up 
Heads Up is a series of initiatives, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which share a common goal: to help protect people of all ages, especially kids and teens, from concussion and other serious brain injuries and their potentially devastating effects. The Heads Up initiatives are developed for: health care professionals and patients, school professionals, sports coaches, parents, and kids and teens. The focus of CDC’s Heads Up is to get key information to emergency departments, doctors’ offices, playing fields, homes, and classrooms and schools nationwide. Visit: www.cdc.gov/Concussion.