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Protecting Children and Youth from Preventable Brain Injuries


BIALA continues its commitment to youth injury prevention by utilizing its skilled, educated professional staff and volunteer team to facilitate safety and health education through its Bike On! Bicycle Safety Initiative. 
Bicycle riding is a fun, healthy way for children to exercise their independence. But not unlike all sports, bicycling presents certain risks and dangers for children. For those that have not been properly educated and equipped with essential protective gear, these risks are magnified. Bike On! will improve a child’s odds of avoiding the life-long consequences that come from living with a traumatic brain injury and cultivate a sense of responsibility within each participant that can transfer to other areas of life and well into their future.
Bike On! programming can be facilitated in many formats including individual workshops or longer running service learning projects within schools. 

Workshops can be stand alone or integrated into curriculum. As funding permits, helmet fittings and helmets are made available to each student. If you
are a school interested in participating in Bike On!, please contact Brigid DeLoach @ brigid@biala.org. 

























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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Youth Concussions Awareness Law

On March 16, 2011, the Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee unanimously passed the Youth Concussion Act.  This act, which was brought forth by a state-wide consortium included BIALA, the NFL & Saints organizations,  many in the medical community, the LA High School  Athletic Association and more, was authored by Senator  Sherri Cheek (District 38) and coauthored by 17 other Senators and Legislators.

The mission of the Louisiana Youth Concussion Act is to better protect Louisiana’s youth athletes from both the acute and long-term dangers of concussions and second impact syndrome, increase state-wide awareness of coaches, officials, athletes, and parents alike; improve and better standardize current health care practices regarding the evaluation and management of the concussed youth athlete to be in line with the current recommendations and guidelines in medical literature.

The core components are:

· Raise awareness of the dangers associated with mismanagement of concussions and brain injury suffered in youth sports.

· Establish training and education standards for coaches, officials, parents, and youth athletes for recognition of concussion and brain injury symptoms.

· Ensure that any youth athlete who is suspected of having suffered a concussion or brain injury is removed from play immediately and appropriately evaluated in an effort to avoid potential catastrophic injuries associated with second impact syndrome or other acute, related brain injury.

· Promote increased education among coaches, officials, athletes, parents, and healthcare providers regarding the importance of prompt recognition of sports-related concussion and its subsequent appropriate proper management, both acute—on the field—and chronic, allowing safe return to play based upon current, accepted medical guidelines.

  The Senate Bill 189 became the Louisiana Youth Concussions Awareness Law when Governor Jindal signed it on June 28, 2011.

Youth Concussion Awareness Packets

In support of the passage of Senate Billl 189, BIALA, with  the  support  of  the  NFL  and  the  New Orleans Saints,  developed  Concussion Awareness Packets that  were  disseminated  to all public and private schools in Louisiana.  These packets contain materials to help schools educate, coaches, faculty, students and parents on awareness and prevention of concussions sustained by our youth. The following were included in mailed packets:

 
Schools may request more materials by emailing us at info@biala.org.