View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2009/07/10/102133.htm
Wells Fargo’s Student Insurance Division and the Sports Concussion Institute (SCI) have launched Play It Safe Concussion Care, a new concussion management treatment and services solution for athletes nationwide.
Play It Safe Concussion Care includes insurance underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, and provides concussion medical expense benefits for athletes who sustain a covered head injury. The program also offers solutions to prevent, diagnose and treat concussions. The process begins with a baseline assessment performed by SCI, or its affiliated medical provider network , which includes a neurocognitive evaluation administered to athletes pre-season. If an athlete suffers a covered head injury, they receive a post-injury assessment to compare to their baseline results, helping to evaluate the extent of the injury and inform treatment.
“We wanted to provide a program that does more than ease the financial burden of concussion care,” said John Breckenridge, senior vice president for Wells Fargo Insurance Services. “Wells Fargo and SCI developed a program that not only could reduce liability but increases education and awareness and helps athletes get back in the game – healthy and safe.”
SCI and Wells Fargo’s Insurance Services Student Insurance Division recently worked together with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to provide concussion management services and consultation for the 740,000 high school students involved in sports within the state of California.
“Expert evaluation and management of concussion is complex and has become an area of subspecialty,” said Neuropsychologist Dr. Tony L. Strickland, Chairman and CEO for SCI.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports and recreation related concussions occur in the United States each year. Ten percent of all college players and twenty percent of all high school players sustain concussions in any given season, with high school athletes three times more likely to sustain a second concussion. For more information, visit https://wfis.wellsfargo.com/concussioncare.