The Star is a new addition this year to Frisco and the partnership between  Baylor Scott & White Hospital and the state-of-the-art arena has given both establishments the chance to shine in the area of brain safety.

 “They have provided us with a neuropsychologist. They will be on the sidelines kind of, like in the NFL, like a spotter. But they aren’t going to intrude on us doing our job,”  campus athletic trainer Joseph White said. “What they are going to do is, they are going to let us evaluate a kid, check it out. They will be present during the evaluation with us and our team doctor. And then if they have something they want to add or ask, something we might have missed in the heat of the moment, they can assist in that process in the evaluation. And ultimately the athletic trainer still has the say so in whether or not the athlete goes back in or does not.”

This use of the neuropsychologist is known as the Brain Injury Program, created by the partnership between Baylor Scott & White Hospital and The Star. During every FISD varsity football game, this program will be utilized.

“If they’re not going to be back in the game, we need to make sure, number one, that they’re safe to not go to the hospital,” Director of Neuropsychology at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation Dr. Mark Burisa said in an NBC 5 interview. “That’s where the neuropsychologist can assist, as well to look for those acute signs that would indicate a more significant injury that would warrant transport to the hospital.”

 The program is the next step in preventing and diagnosing concussion-related injuries, but it’s only a step in what some doctors say needs to be continuing education.

“The adolescent brain is very susceptible to concussions. And usually, long term damage from concussions becomes a worry after athletes have had multiple concussions,” Pediatric Intensivist Dr. Archana Dhar said. “There needs to be a lot more education in this regard.”