InvestigateWest (http://www.invw.org/series/rattledinoregon/)
Oregon lawmakers concerned about the potential for long-term injury from sports-related concussions passed a law in 2009. Since then, school sports coaches and trainers have been required to follow strict return-to-play strategies to make sure athletes with head injuries don’t return to sports too soon.
What have we learned from these protocols since 2009? That’s among the questions this series aims to answer.
Rattled: Oregon’s Concussion Discussion is a joint project of InvestigateWest, the Pamplin Media Group and the Agora Journalism Center, made possible in part by grants from Meyer Memorial Trust and the Center for Cooperative Media. Researcher Mark G. Harmon from the Portland State University Criminology & Criminal Justice Department provides statistical review and analysis. The New York-based Solutions Journalism Network provided training in solutions-based techniques and support to participating journalists.
David Kracke is a personal injury lawyer at the Nichols Law Group in Portland and a co-author of Max’s Law, Oregon’s landmark legislation aimed at reducing the impact of brain injuries among Oregon student athletes. In mid-October, Lee van der Voo, managing director of InvestigateWest and John Schrag, executive editor of the Pamplin Media Group, talked to Kracke about the history of the law.
Earlier this year, Oregon lawmakers amended Max’s Law, expanding the definition of “health professionals,” who can clear athletes with concussions to return to play. The new definition includes chiropractors, naturopaths, physical therapists and occupational therapists. The chief executive of Providence Health & Services, Doug Koekkoek, argued for including language that clarified that “a clinician should not provide medical release after a suspected concussion if it is not within the providers scope of practice.”
Also, the Oregon Medical Association, Oregon Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, and Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of Oregon penned a joint statement declaring “it is important that a neutral party clears the student to play, rather than a person who is employed by the school or the athletes’ team, as such a person may be subject to outside pressures.”
That argument led to the omission of school athletic trainers from the list of medical professionals qualified to allow concussed students to return to play.
Ready. Set. Hike: Nearly two decades ago, during a high school football game, a 17-year-old quarterback named Max Conradt lined up under center and began a snap count. Now, a namesake law protects student athletes from the kind of tragedy that unfolded for the Waldport, Oregon player.
Over the past six months, reporters working on a series about high school sports concussions in Oregon have made 235 requests for records — or rather, the same request 235 times. Oregon has one state law to govern how local jurisdictions handle public records. But the responses to this same request are wide and varied across the state.
We sought concussion records from 235 public high schools participating in sports organized by the Oregon School Activities Association. Here’s how they responded:
School
Status
Aloha High School
Records partially returned
Beaverton High School
Records partially returned
Benson Polytechnic High School
Records returned
Canby High School
Stalled
Centennial High School
Records returned
Century High School
Records partially returned
Clackamas High School
Records returned
Cleveland High School
Records returned
David Douglas High School
Records partially returned
Forest Grove High School
Records returned
Franklin High School
Records returned
Glencoe High School
Records partially returned
Grant High School
Records returned
Gresham High School
Records returned
Hillsboro High School
Records partially returned
Jefferson High School
Records returned
Lake Oswego Senior High School
Records partially returned
Lakeridge High School
Records partially returned
Liberty High School
Records partially returned
Lincoln High School
Records returned
Madison High School
Records returned
Milwaukie High School
Records returned
Newberg Senior High School
Records returned
Oregon City Senior High School
Stalled
Parkrose High School
Records partially returned
Putnam High School
Records returned
Reynolds High School
Stalled
Roosevelt High School
Records returned
Sam Barlow High School
Records returned
Sandy High School
Records returned
Sherwood High School
Holding for fees
Southridge High School
Records partially returned
St Helens High School
Stalled
Sunset High School
Records partially returned
Tigard High School
In progress
Tualatin High School
In progress
West Linn High School
Records returned
Westview High School
Records partially returned
Wilson High School
Records returned
Wilsonville High School
Holding for fees
Adrian High School
Records partially returned
Amity High School
No response
Ashland High School
Records partially returned
Astoria Senior High School
Stalled
Baker High School
Records returned
Bandon Senior High School
Records returned
Banks High School
No response
Bend Senior High School
In progress
Brookings-Harbor High School
Stalled
Burns High School
Records returned
Cascade Senior High School
Stalled
Central High School
In progress
Central Medford High School
In progress
Churchill High School
Stallled
Colton High School
Holding for fees
Condon High School
No response
Corvallis High School
In progress
Cottage Grove High School
No response
Crane Union High School
No response
Crater Renaissance Academy
Records partially returned
Crescent Valley High School
In progress
Creswell High School
No response
Crook County High School
No response
Culver High School
No response
Dallas High School
In progress
Dayton High School
No response
Douglas High School
No response
Eagle Point High School
Records partially returned
Elgin High School
No response
Elmira High School
No response
Estacada High School
No response
Falls City High School
No response
Gervais High School
No response
Gladstone High School
Holding for fees
Glendale Community Charter School
No response
Glide High School
No response
Gold Beach High School
No response
Henley High School
No response
Hermiston High School
Records partially returned
Hidden Valley High School
Stalled
Hood River Valley High School
In progress
Illinois Valley High School
Stalled
Jefferson High School
Records returned
John F Kennedy High School
Records partially returned
Junction City High School
No response
Klamath Union High School
No response
Knappa High School
No response
La Grande High School
Stalled
LaPine Senior High School
In progress
Madras High School
No response
Mazama High School
No response
McKay High School
In progress
McKenzie High School
No response
McLoughlin High School
No response
McMinnville High School
Records partially returned
McNary High School
In progress
Milwaukie Academy of the Arts
Records returned
Molalla High School
In progress
Monroe High School
In progress
Neah-Kah-Nie High School
No response
Newport High School
Records partially returned
Nixyaawii Community School
In progress
North Bend Senior High School
No response
North Douglas High School
No response
North Eugene High School
Stalled
North Marion High School
No response
North Medford High School
In progress
North Salem High School
In progress
North Valley High School
Stalled
Nyssa High School
No response
Oakland High School
Records returned
Oakridge High School
No response
Ontario High School
In progress
Pacific High School
No response
Pendleton High School
Records returned
Philomath High School
Records returned
Phoenix High School
In progress
Redmond High School
Records returned
Ridgeview High School
Records returned
Riverdale High School
Records returned
Roseburg High School
Records partially returned, record request partially denied
Scappoose High School
No response
Scio High School
No response
Seaside High School
Stalled
Sheldon High School
Stalled
Sheridan High School
Stalled
Siletz Valley Early College Academy
No response
Silverton High School
In progress
Sisters High School
No response
Siuslaw High School
No response
South Albany High School
Records partially returned
South Eugene High School
Stalled
South Medford High School
In progress
South Salem High School
In progress
South Umpqua High School
Records partially returned
Sprague High School
In progress
Springfield High School
No response
Stayton High School
In progress
Summit High School
In progress
Sutherlin High School
Stalled
Sweet Home High School
Records partially returned
The Dalles High School
Records partially returned
Thurston High School
No response
Tillamook High School
No response
Umatilla High School
No response
Vale High School
No response
Vernonia High School
No response
Waldport High School
Records partially returned
Warrenton High School
Records returned
West Albany High School
No response
West Salem High School
In progress
Weston-McEwen High School
No response
Willamette High School
Records partially returned
Willamina High School
No response
Yamhill Carlton High School
No response
Burnt River School
Records partially returned
Pine Eagle Charter School
No response
Alsea High School
No response
Kings Valley Charter School
No response
Jewell School
No response
Clatskanie Middle/High School
No response
Rainier Jr/Sr High School
No response
Coquille Junior Senior High
No response
Marshfield Senior High School
No response
Myrtle Point High School
No response
Oregon Coast Technology School
No response
Powers High School
No response
Camas Valley School
No response
Days Creek Charter School
Stalled
Elkton Charter School
No response
Reedsport Community Charter School
No response
Riddle High School
Records partially returned
Arlington Community Charter School
No response
Grant Union Junior/Senior High School
No response
Monument School
No response
Prairie City School
No response
Butte Falls Charter School
No response
Prospect Charter School
No response
Rogue River Junior/Senior High
No response
Bonanza Junior/Senior High School
No response
Chiloquin High School
No response
Gilchrist Junior/Senior High School
No response
Lakeview Senior High School
No response
North Lake School
No response
Paisley School
No response
Crow Middle/High School
No responseRecords partially returned
Mapleton Jr/Sr High School
No response
Mohawk High School
No response
Mountain View Academy
No response
Pleasant Hill High School
No response
Triangle Lake Charter School
Records partially returned
Eddyville Charter School
No response
Taft High School
Records partially returned
Toledo Junior/Senior High School
Records partially returned
Santiam Junior/Senior High School
No response
Harper Charter School
No response
Jordan Valley High School
No response
Oregon School for the Deaf
No response
St Paul High School
No response
Woodburn Academy of Art Science and Technology
Stalled
Heppner Junior/Senior High School
In progress
Ione Community Charter School
No response
Irrigon Junior/Senior High School
Records returned
Riverside Junior/Senior High School
Records returned
Perrydale School
No response
Sherman Junior/Senior High School
No response
Nestucca High School
No response
Echo School
No response
Pilot Rock High School
In progress
Stanfield Secondary School
Stalled
Ukiah School
Records partially returned
Cove Charter School
No response
Imbler Charter School
No response
Union High School
No response
Enterprise High School
No response
Joseph Charter School
No response
Wallowa High School
No response
Dufur School
No response
South Wasco County High School
No response
Mitchell School
No response
Spray School
No response
Sheridan Japanese School
No response
Corbett School
In progress
Dayville School
Stalled
Long Creek School
Records returned
Gaston Elementary School
No response
Huntington School
No response
Lost River High School
No response
Lowell Junior/Senior High School
No response
North Powder Charter School
No response
Yoncalla High School
No response
Helix School
Records partially returned
The Oregon School Activities Association oversees everything from track meets to choir championships in Oregon. OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber and Assistant Director Brad Garrett sat with Lee van der Voo, of InvestigateWest, and John Schrag, of Pamplin Media Group, to talk about Rattled, the news groups’ collaborative investigation into Oregon high school concussions.
While we now know that football tops the list of concussion injuries per sport, the focus on football skews concussion discussions about other sports risks of concussion. We explore how to evaluate those risks alongside the benefits of physical activity for kids.
Sami Howard’s last concussion, captured by a student videographer, looks bad. But it’s the sound — something like a dropped bowling ball — that turned the crowd’s cheers into a low moan and then near-silence. A contested rebound. A fall to the ground, and Sami Howard’s life changed forever. The concussion was her fourth.
One in five American teens reports having suffered at least one concussion. For most students, it’s a relatively tame tale: a headache, some rest, and then back to a normal routine.
But for others, it’s a life-changing event. Reporters for Rattled: Oregon’s Concussion Discussion compile unique data on concussion injury from 238 public schools in Oregon. This series examines what they learned.
Reporters are looking for high school students interested in sharing their stories or digging up the truth about concussion risk in their schools or on their teams. Want to join Rattled: Oregon’s Concussion Discussion? Here’s how.