Teaming Up to Keep Student Athletes Safe

Through our ThinkSmart!™ Concussion Management program, originally launched in 2010 at St. Charles Hospital, CHS is working to keep student athletes safe. Collaborating with more than 41 school districts across Long Island, ThinkSmart! offers baseline testing, community education, specialized treatments and rehabilitation for student athletes and other individuals at risk of or who have sustained concussion, a common but serious traumatic brain injury (TBI). ThinkSmart! was developed to help prevent concussion and safely return athletes to the field, when an injury has occurred.

“Concussion recovery is extremely variable, which is why we provide each patient with a personalized treatment and recovery plan,” said Dr. Jennifer Gray, co-director of the ThinkSmart! Concussion Program at St. Charles Hospital. “It is important to ensure complete recovery of our student athletes prior to return to sports to prevent potentially severe consequences, as well as to avoid long lasting cognitive and physical effects.”

To date, approximately 30,000 students have received neurocognitive baseline testing through this program. The ThinkSmart! team of clinicians from St. Charles and Good Samaritan includes emergency medicine physicians, neurologists, physical medicine/rehabilitation physicians, orthopedic physicians, neuropsychologists, nurses and physical therapists who work with student athletes and their families. Visit www.chsli.org and click through the “ThinkSmart! Concussion Management” link under “Services”/”Neuroscience” to learn more.

For a free copy of our Services Guide booklet, call 1-855-CHS-4500 or visit www.chsli.org.