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Changing the Protocol for Treating High School Athletes

University of the Fraser Valley / flickr
A study on concussions conducted at the University of the Fraser Valley

A jury has awarded a former Bedford High School football player nearly $1 million for the way the school handled the player's head injuries. The player, Kacey Strough, had a pre-existing medical condition, involving abnormally formed blood vessels in his brain, that bled after he suffered a head injury. Strough was allowed to keep practicing and playing through this injury.

On this news buzz edition of River to River, guest-host Ben Stanton interviews Dr. Andy Peterson of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to learn about the implications of this case.

"There are probably hundreds if not thousands of kids across Iowa, with this particular abnormality, that are playing football,” says Peterson.

“I think that most high school coaches and medical providers on the sidelines want to be doing the right thing for their athletes. Hopefully this doesn’t make school districts too afraid that they start doing things like getting rid of contact and collision sports; but at the same time, people need to take these injuries seriously.”

Also on this program:

Iowan John Hays, the founder of Hays Pure Water, joins the show from Nepal to talk about relief efforts in the country, which involves getting purified drinking water to remote villages devastated by the earthquake and aftershocks. State Senator Matt McCoy talks about what he’s doing to limit the prevalence of puppy mills in Iowa, in light of 11 breeders making the Humane Society's "Horrible Hundred" list. And, Taylor Yocom, student at the University of Iowa shares her motivations for the Guarded photography project and responds to the worldwide attention it has received.

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