White Swan High School

Concussion Information

Zackery Lystedt Law - House Bill 1824
On May 14th 2009, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed the nation's toughest youth athlete return-to-play law.

The new law (House Bill 1824), known as the Zackery Lystedt Law, requires medical clearance of youth athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion, before sending them back in the game, practice or training.
The new law is the most comprehensive return-to-play law in the United States for athletes under 18. More than 3.5 million sports-and-related concussions occur each year in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Key provisions of the new law require:

Youth athletes who are suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury be removed from play. "When in doubt, sit them out."
School districts to work with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) to develop information and policies on educating coaches, youth athletes and parents about the nature and risk of concussion, including the dangers of returning to practice or competition after a concussion or head injury.
All student athletes and their parents/guardians sign an information sheet about concussion and head injury prior to the youth athlete's initiating practice at the start of each season.
Youth athletes who have been removed from play receive written medical clearance prior to returning to play from a licensed health-care provider trained in the evaluation and management of concussion.
Private, nonprofit youth sports associations wanting to use publicly owned playfields comply with this law

Handling a Concussion
Here at White Swan High School we take concussions very serious and have created a four step
action plan that is to be followed when a suspected concussion has occurred.

Step #1 - Determine if a concussion has occurred
When an athlete has experienced a bump or blow to the head or body, a coach must check the
athlete for signs and symptoms that a concussion has occurred. If an athlete has one or more of
the symptoms listed on the "signs of concussion" form, then that athlete must sit out until he/she
can be evaluated by a licensed medical professional.

Step #2 - Seeking Medical Care
When a coach thinks an athlete has suffered a concussion, the athlete must be held out of all
practices and games until he/she is checked by a licensed medical professional. If a coach is unable
to determine if an athlete has suffered a concussion or not, that athlete must also be held out of all
practices and games until he/she is checked by a licensed medical professional as well. To assist the
medical professionals the coach needs to record the following information and relay it to the
medical professionals:

Cause of the injury and force of the hit or blow to the head or body
Any loss of consciousness (passed out/knocked out) and if so, for how long
Any memory loss immediately following the injury
Any seizures immediately following the injury
Number of previous concussions (if any)

Step #3 - Communication
When a student-athlete has suffered a concussion it is the responsibility of the coach to contact the
parents/legal guardian(s) of that student-athlete to inform them of the injury. The coach also needs
to communicate with the athletic director and the school nurse about the injury. Finally, the coach
will fill out an accident report about the injury and incident.

Step #4 - Return to Play
A student-athlete may not return to play until the athlete is evaluated by a licensed health care
provider trained in the evaluation and management of concussions and has received written
clearance to return to play from that health care provider. When a coach receives a written clearance
of that note from a student-athlete, a copy of that notes needs to be sent to the athletic director
and school nurse to keep on file.

Second Impact Syndrome
What is Second Impact Syndrome?
Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) occurs when an athlete who sustains a head injury subsequently
receives a second head injury before full resolution of the first symptoms. Re-injury need not
occur on the same day and has been reported up to four days following the first concussion with
brief loss of consciousness (Erlanger, 1999).
At the time of the second concussion, the impact might appear minor and the athlete may just
appear slightly dazed and be able to walk off the field under their own power. However, real
effects of SIS will kick in and usually happen at this point. The athlete could collapse, lose
consciousness, have respiratory failure, and death may even occur.

Who does SIS affect?
Some of the research that has been completed on SIS, indicates that athletes under the age
of 21 are at greater risk to suffer from SIS than older athletes, “…also to be noted that a
review of the Second Impact Syndrome reveals no cases in which the individual is more than 21
years of age” (Erlanger, 1999).

Real Life Stories of SIS