Last month Gov. Chris Christie signed a law that will protect youth across New Jersey from the dangers of sports concussion. The law was sponsored by Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-18th District) and Sen. Richard Codey (D-27th District).
The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey would like to thank all the leaders involved in this state legislation and to acknowledge U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D- 8th District), who has been promoting the importance of concussion management at the federal level since fall 2008.
Congressman Pascrell introduced the ConTACT (Concussion Treatment And Care Tools) Act, which requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to convene medical, athletic and education professionals to establish a set of concussion management guidelines for student athletes, and authorizes grants to implement concussion policies and purchase concussiontesting equipment.
Congressman Pascrell also is the founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, which has a mission “to further education and awareness of brain injury and support funding for basic and applied research on brain-injury rehabilitation and development of a cure.”
The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey commends all the legislators involved in the process of bringing concussion awareness to the forefront in our state. And we would like to express a sincere gratitude to Congressman Pascrell for his longtime commitment to this issue.
Barbara Geiger-Parker
President and Chief Executive
Officer
Brain Injury Association of
New Jersey
North Brunswick