COLLEGE
FOOTBALL ASSISTANCE FUND MAKES FOOTBALL CONCUSSION RESEARCH GRANT TO CHILDRESS
INSTITUTE
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – October
8, 2012 – The
College Football Assistance Fund (CFAF) announced a $10,000 research grant to
the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma to fund a college football
concussion study at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
“More than 12,000 kids die every year from serious injuries, which is more
than all other causes combined,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of
Richard Childress Racing and co-founder of the Childress Institute for
Pediatric Trauma. “When my wife and I heard these numbers, we knew we needed to
make an impact to save the lives of injured children across the United States.
The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma is grateful to CFAF for helping us
raise awareness about sports-related traumatic brain injuries.”
Wake Forest Baptist’s concussion team is working closely with Virginia Tech
to study impacts in kids from six years old to college-age. This fall the group
expanded their research into high schools and youth leagues, further broadening
the reach, effect and relevance of the study’s eventual findings and helping
ensure the safety and health of all football players nationwide. Both institutions are currently utilizing the
Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS), a system in which transponders inside
players’ helmets gather and transfer data about the impact of every hit during
practices and games to health care professionals on the sideline and in the
clinic.
“So much is unknown about how the brain is affected from sports-related
injuries,” said Dr. Joel Stitzel, Co- principal investigator at Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Center, a part of the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University
School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (SBES). “Through research and the
support of the Childress Institute, our goal is to better identify and treat
mild traumatic brain injury.”
The HITS system was purchased and installed in Wake Forest University
football players’ helmets for the 2010 and 2011 seasons to study impact
exposure. Further work in the joint study with Virginia Tech will improve the
understanding of the biomechanical basis for brain injury as well as develop procedures
for bringing future concussion research studies to football programs for
younger players.
The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma at Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Center was established through the generosity of Richard and
Judy Childress.
###
Media Contact: Kara Thompson,
kathomps@wakehealth.edu
,
(336) 491-9766
ABOUT CFAF
The College Football Assistance Fund is a non-profit
organization dedicated to support those who have sustained serious injuries
through college football. Assistance is provided to ease the burden of medical
costs associated with injuries such as joint replacement, spine treatment,
neurological care and other related expenses.
The CFAF was established in 2010 by a group of collegiate
coaches and athletic administrators concerned about the limited resources
available to injured football players. Major donors include some of today’s top
college football coaches and bowls.
For
more information about CFAF, please visit
www.CFAFund.org
About The
Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma
The
Childress Institute is working to save injured children’s lives through
research, education and awareness, as well as help them recover
quickly. Serious injury is the No. 1 killer of kids in America – more than
12,000 children die each year and more than 100,000 survive with some form of a
disability. The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma at Wake Forest Baptist
Medical Center was established through the generosity of Richard and Judy
Childress. For more information, please visit
www.ChildressPediatricTrauma.org
.