West Virginia holds ‘concussion discussion’ in wake of middle schooler’s death

Kyle stressed that aside from the Caps for Cohen initiative, which aims to get Guardian caps, protective padding on football helmets, for all teams in the state, there should also be discussion about limiting days of contact in practice.

Kyle also showed a map depicting the lack of athletic trainers in the state especially in the southern part. He said with all the high schools in the state, there are less than half with full-time athletic trainers.

Dr. Tony Erwin is the sideline physician for Hurricane High School. He said what they have done in Putnam County by staffing each high school with a trainer needs to be replicated throughout the state.

He said athletic trainers can be the experts in spotting injury that a coach may not have expertise in and determine if they can keep playing or sit back out.

“We’re going to have to go to the legislators, I think,” Erwin said. “We’re going to have to ask for the funding to be put in place which I think is the best benefit for all of these sports programs is to have an established athletic trainer at the schools.”

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Dr. Calvin Whaley, a CAMC neurosurgeon who treated Cohen, stressed the importance of pulling kids from play if they see the signs and symptoms in them immediately and getting them medical attention to ensure there is no bleeding or swelling and prevent a second impact.

“I think the thing that means the most to me is that people want to protect our kids,” Whaley said. “They want our kids to go out and have fun, but at the same time, we want to develop systems that allow us to have that fun safely so that we can try and prevent injury and we can get our kids back doing things they love as quickly as possible.”

To read the full story from WCHS-TV about the West Virginia discussion, click here.