Program helping metro Atlanta student-athletes recover from head injuries

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A partnership with metro Atlanta schools and Northside Hospital is helping keep student-athletes safer. Northside Hospital's Concussion Institute works with high schools and middle schools across the metro to help student-athletes after head injuries.

What they're saying:

Danielle Tatum has become familiar with the doctor's office over the last year. The Grayson High School student was training for the upcoming basketball season when an accident happened in the weight room. A barbell slipped from a teammate's hands.

"It dropped, and then it fell on my head. And everybody swarmed me. They were like, 'Are you OK? Are you OK?' Because they heard it," she told Good Day's Lindsay Tuman.

Right away, Tatum knew something was wrong.

"I felt like something was off. I was just, like, dazed. I was kind of, like, out of it. I was in the zone, and then everyone was swarming, and I just kind of felt like I was out of it. You know, I was, like, touching my head because I was bleeding," she said.

Her mom, Tiffany Beal, rushed her to the hospital when she got the news. Doctors diagnosed Tatum with a concussion.

"Well, I was scared because I didn't know what to expect at all. I was like, 'Oh no am I going to have permanent damage? Is it going to be a long-term effect? What could happen? Like, could I not play basketball anymore because, you know, balls fly everywhere - could it accidentally hit my head?' I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know at all," Tatum said.

Her concerns were calmed thanks to Northside Hospital's Concussion Institute.

Dig deeper:

Dr. Abigail Feder Ph.D. is a neuropsychologist with the program, which partners with schools throughout the metro.

"We have a relationship with the athletic trainers with the high schools and actually a lot of middle schools and younger events now as well to really be able to identify an injury on the sideline, all the way through concussion management to clearance," Feder said.

The program works with ImPACT Baseline testing, or Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing. Students do the testing at the start of the athletic season under the supervision of facility staff.

"So, ImPACT is a neurocognitive test battery that we can use before and after a concussion. So we use it before as a baseline measure to really get a picture of how someone is doing from a memory, a speed of processing - various cognitive perspectives, and then if they were to sustain a concussion or maybe have a suspected concussion that we wanted to evaluate, we can have them take that ImPACT test again, and then compare their scores to their own personal baseline to see how they're doing," Feder explained.

It's the same tool used in the NFL and NHL. It helps experts create individual plans to help the student-athletes recover.

"So the goal is not really to keep people out of school for an extended period of time. It's time to get them back in the school environment, but to maybe give them some breaks to accommodate that, to give them some extra time on testing to manage any processing speed difficulties, maybe give them a chance to pass in the hallways early so they don't have to be in all of that craziness if they're feeling dizzy or maybe a little off balance," she said.

Feder said the goal is to get student-athletes in for treatment quickly and create a plan tailored to their individual needs. The program is also about educating student-athletes about concussions, so they'll seek treatment if they are injured.

"And when it comes to reporting concussions, the culture does seem to be changing around it in a lot of sports. Where it's more moving towards if you're feeling something off, just report it because we have good research that says if you play through a concussion, even 15 or 30 minutes, even if you don't take another hit, it might take you twice as long to recover than if you just pull yourself, an athletic trainer, a coach, a parent pulls you, you might miss half a game, but we can get you back twice as fast," she said.

For Tatum and her mom, the program was a huge relief.

"Once we found out the diagnosis, the school was amazing. The administrators as well as the coaches and the trainers helped me to develop a 504 plan just to make sure that she was good." Beal said.

Now Tatum is feeling back to normal, and she's back on the court. Her message to other student-athletes is don't wait if you're hurt - get checked out right away.

"I would just tell them just to be careful, and it's not as scary as you think it is, it's definitely not scary. It's just a little process, but it's just temporary, but you'll be able to play the sports, like, really quick," Tatum said.

Tatum says her experience inspired her. She now wants to go to medical school and be a neurosurgeon.

What you can do:

If you want to learn more about Northside Hospital's Concussion Institute, you can visit the website here.

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