ImPACT Applications Sponsors Inaugural Dignity Health Foundation Humankindness Gala to Support Concussion Education

PITTSBURGH and SAN FRANCISCO, May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ImPACT Applications, Inc., developer of ImPACT®, ImPACT Passport, and the ImPACT Concussion Management Model™, helped support Dignity Health's Concussion Education initiative as a sponsor of the organization's inaugural Dignity Health Foundation Humankindness Gala on May 19, 2016 at San Francisco City Hall.

"We are so pleased to have ImPACT as a sponsor for the Dignity Health Foundation Humankindness Gala," said Nancy Bussani, vice president of philanthropy for Dignity Health Foundation. "ImPACT has been an important partner in our work to educate students about concussions and ensure they participate safely in sports." 

The Humankindness Gala was created to help unleash the power of humanity on major social issues. Proceeds from the event will support three core initiatives at Dignity Health:  Concussion Education, Human Trafficking, and Postpartum Depression. Other sponsors include Google, Wells Fargo, the San Francisco 49ers, and McKinsey & Company.

"After joining Dignity Health to introduce the Brainbook program in the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this year, ImPACT is happy to continue our partnership and shared mission to increase concussion awareness by supporting the Humankindness Gala," said Michael Wahlster, chief executive officer of ImPACT Applications. "Dignity Health's focus on championing the safety of our nation's student athletes closely aligns with ImPACT's research on and development of critical components of concussion management: computerized baseline and post-injury testing."

The gala raised more than $1 million to benefit the Dignity Health Foundation and its three core initiatives. Nearly 350 guests attended, including local and national business and charitable leaders and representatives from many athletic and civic organizations.

Head injuries are on the rise for athletes at all levels of play, with an estimated 4 to 5 million concussions occurring annually and an increase emerging among middle school athletes. Proper management and scientifically-informed return-to-play decisions made by trained medical professionals may help protect the long-term health of athletes. ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) provides one important piece of the overall concussion evaluation and management process.

The first and only program to take an athlete-focused approach to concussion education and prevention, Dignity Health's Brainbook is regarded as the most comprehensive and effective program of its kind in the nation. The Dignity Health Concussion Network and Brainbook were launched in January 2016 through a partnership with ImPACT, Barrow Neurological Institute, the San Francisco 49ers, and the California Interscholastic Federation with the goal of ensuring the program is available to all students throughout California.

By eliciting athlete participation in concussion awareness and management, in addition to the more traditional focus on coaches and trained medical professionals, Brainbook helps address the complexity of concussion management across multiple touchpoints.

About ImPACT

Developed by clinical experts who pioneered the field, ImPACT is the most widely used and most scientifically validated computerized concussion management tool available. More than 7,400 high schools, 1,000 colleges and universities, 900 clinical centers, 475 Credentialed ImPACT Consultants, 200 professional teams, and select military units choose ImPACT to assist in the management of concussion.  Since 2006, ImPACT has served nearly 8 million individual test takers. 

For more information, visit www.impacttest.com/about/.

About Dignity Health

Dignity Health, one of the nation's largest health care systems, is a 21-state network of 9,000 physicians, 59,000 employees, and more than 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In FY15, Dignity Health provided $1.7 billion in charitable care and services. For more information, please visit our website at www.dignityhealth.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Dignity Health Barrow Neurological Institute has been the nation's leader in concussion education, prevention and treatment. In addition to Barrow Brainbook, the Institute has given more than 58,000 baseline concussion tests to Arizona high school athletes and conducted approximately 9,000 post-injury tests. Barrow also recently created a telemedicine program to better help athletic trainers diagnose and treat concussed high school athletes. Barrow is an internationally renowned Institute which performs more brain surgeries annually than anywhere in the United States and is home to the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.

SOURCE ImPACT Applications