| Heads Up: EMS Week at PVH
As many as 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions happen in the U.S. every year. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the Heads Up: Concussions in Youth Sports program to educate people who regularly work with athletes about the dangers of these sometimes serious brain injuries.
 Penobscot Valley Hospital is offering this class as a free service to parents, teachers, athletes, and anyone else who is involved with youth sports in the Lincoln Lakes Region. The hospital’s Emergency Medical Services staff will be teaching the class on Thursday, May 22nd in Conference Room A at PVH. This seminar will focus on the symptoms of a concussion, how to prevent the injuries, and what to do when an injury occurs.
The free class is part of PVH’s celebration of EMS Week (Emergency Medical Services). The hospital’s ambulance crew will also be at Wal-Mart on Saturday, May 17th from 10-2, to give people a chance to see the inside of the ambulance unit and learn more about EMS jobs.
Heads Up: Concussions in Youth Sports is being offered across the country. Participants learn some startling figures and information. For instance, a high school athletes’ recovery time from sports-related concussions is normally about three times longer than that of a college student. Plus, high school athletes are three times more likely than any other age group to sustain a second concussion before receiving treatment for the first.
“These are often preventable injuries,” says PVH Ambulance Captain Angela Helms. “What the athlete does shortly after the initial concussion happens can have as much of an impact as the first impact.”
To sign up for this free class through PVH, call 794-7270. Space is limited, but, again, the course is free to the community.
For information on news from PVH, contact Allison Bankston at abankston@pvhme.org.
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