NIRSA’s Concussion Advisory Council gets to work

Through NIRSA’s partnership with Ian McGregor & Associates and their SportRisk newsletter, NIRSA has learned that a large insurance company is indicating they will exclude ‘head trauma’ from liability coverage for Canadian higher education institutions in the policy renewal process for fall of 2017. Other insurance companies, including those in the United States, may also consider taking this action.

See related: “Implementing concussion protocols”

Following this news, NIRSA Executive Director Pam Watts and Ian McGregor facilitated a roundtable discussion session at the NIRSA 2017 Annual Conference. The session generated significant and sustained member interest; it is a topic the Association will be continuing to focus on, ensuring members have access to useful resources in this area.

Given the complexity of the topic, the NIRSA Board recently approved the establishment of a Concussion Advisory Council. The goals for the council are to:

Track the issue
Raise awareness about the topic and work to educate their fellow NIRSA members
Advocate on behalf of campus recreation to brokers and insurers

The Advisory Council is being chaired by Lexi Chaput, Assistant Director of Club Sports at the University of Michigan. Other members of the council include:

Robin Bowman, Assistant Director for Injury Prevention & Care, University of Nebraska
Mike Dominguez, Sports Club Coordinator, University of California, Davis
Wallace Eddy, Associate Director, Risk Management & Assessment, University of Maryland
Jason Linsenmeyer, Assistant Director of Recreation Programs, Oklahoma State University
Ian McGregor, SportRisk
Larry Mellinger, Director of Campus Recreation, Elon University

The Advisory Council held an initial kick-off meeting in early July and is currently reviewing a potential survey to send to members to assess the current state of concussion protocols, practices, and education strategies in campus recreation.

The Association is also in dialogue with the University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA) and the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) about their work in this area.