American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
For Immediate Release May 29, 2014

AMSSM’s Front-Line Concussion Experts, Researchers Participate in White House Concussion Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The lead author of the widely-recognized AMSSM Position Statement Concussion in Sport that has become the standard of care resource for sports medicine physicians caring for concussion, Kim Harmon, MD, is representing the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine at the White House Healthy Kids & Safe Sports Concussion Summit today (Thursday, May 29) in Washington, D.C. along with AMSSM President Chris Madden, MD and Executive Director Jim Griffith, MBA, CAE.

“AMSSM was honored to be invited to join the national dialogue on keeping our youth safe in sport,” said Dr. Harmon, who is the director of the University of Washington Primary Care Sports Medicine fellowship; Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine; and serves as a team physician at the university. She is also a past president of AMSSM.

President Obama was slated to open the event with remarks regarding the issue of concussion in youth sports. The Summit, which is being held in the East Room of the White House, is scheduled to include a panel discussion and opportunity for partnering organizations to outline new commitments they’re making to address the issue.

“Primary care sports medicine physicians provide care to active people and athletes at all levels of sports from youth to professional,” said Dr. Madden, who practices sports medicine and family medicine at Longs Peak Family Practice in Longmont, CO. “AMSSM physicians provide care on the sideline and in the office caring for the complete continuum of concussion injury.”

AMSSM highlighted its commitment to making progress in the area of concussion in the following important areas:

Excellence in Patient Care:

• The AMSSM is broadly committed to promoting best practices in concussion management, utilizing high quality evidence where available, to ensure the health and safety of our athletes at all times.
• AMSSM members provide the full spectrum of clinical concussion care; given the specialized nature of sports medicine training, they have expertise in assessment, management and return to play decision-making.

Education:

• AMSSM is active in leading, developing and contributing to widely recognized concussion position and consensus statements.
• AMSSM provides state-of-the art educational content at its annual meetings featuring national and international experts in the field.
• AMSSM promotes patient education and awareness through its websites.
• AMSSM works to develop cutting edge training standards and its members teach concussion management in residencies, fellowships and within communities across the country.

Research:

• AMSSM is one of the premier professional organizations sponsoring and disseminating sports concussion research.
• AMSSM will continue to offer a national forum for our members producing original, meaningful, concussion research, to share and present their findings.

Advocacy:

• AMSSM partners with the STOP Sports Injury Program, CDC Heads Up Concussion Awareness, Safe Kids, USA Football’s Heads Up Football and the Youth Sports Safety Alliance.
• AMSSM works closely with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to ensure proper standards to optimize the health and safety of our athletes.
• AMSSM members participate in and lead several national and international sports medicine advisory boards.
• AMSSM is at the forefront of concussion-related legislation.

Collaboration:

• AMSSM partners with other leading athletic medicine organizations such as the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) to develop and promote standards to prevent catastrophic injury in sport.
• AMSSM provides an environment that fosters collaboration between individuals, institutions and researchers.
• AMSSM provides opportunities for groups wishing to collaborate on research projects related to concussion at its annual meetings.

About the AMSSM: AMSSM is a multi-disciplinary organization of 2,500 sports medicine physicians dedicated to education, research, advocacy and the care of athletes of all ages. The majority of AMSSM members are primary care physicians with fellowship training and added qualification in sports medicine who then combine their practice of sports medicine with their primary specialty. AMSSM includes members who specialize solely in non-surgical sports medicine and serve as team physicians at the youth level, NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS and NHL, as well as with Olympic teams. By nature of their training and experience, sports medicine physicians are ideally suited to provide comprehensive medical care for athletes, sports teams or active individuals who are simply looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. www.amssm.org

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