Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation
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| Type | Youth Development & Wellness |
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| Location | |
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Area served
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Greater Pittsburgh Area |
| Website |
www |
The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation is a non-profit organization located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Foundation began in July 20, 2010 with the support of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Pittsburgh Penguins ownership group. The foundation offers preventative wellness and developmental programs, charity assist programs, promotes activity among youth and families while teaching life skills.
Created in 2011, HEADS UP Pittsburgh is an initiative started by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation to provide educational training sessions and events to increase awareness toward the severity of concussions. The program educates parents and children about different concussion symptoms and what measures are necessary should an athlete sustain a possible concussion. HEADS UP Pittsburgh also stresses the importance of taking time to fully recover before returning to sports.
HEADS UP Pittsburgh is funded by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and implemented by UPMC Sports Medicine. The program initially offered free baseline concussion testing for youth hockey players in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL) and Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League (PAHL), as well as other youth hockey groups registered locally through USA Hockey programs. In 2011, 2,300 youth hockey players were tested. The program expanded its second year to offer free baseline testing for athletes in 12 additional sports.
To date, more than 5,700 young athletes have received free baseline concussion testing and educational seminars for their parents.
The test, which all NHL players undergo, evaluates the athlete's neurocognitive state which includes brain processing speed, memory, and visual motor skills. If the player suffers a concussion, these test results are then used in order to compare their previous neurocognitive state to that of their possible concussed state. Baseline testing is used because concussions do not show up on CT or MRI scans due to it not being a structural brain injury. Testing is necessary because symptoms vary from person to person. These symptoms range from nausea, dizziness, concentration problems and/or fuzzy vision. The testing is done by the UPMC Sports Concussion group on the computer program ImPACT.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) also play key roles in this unique program.
Implemented at the start of the 2012-13 school year, the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation developed PensFIT, a program designed to introduce children to the sport of hockey and facilitate an increase in physical activity. In 2012, the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation provided 260 elementary schools (public and private) in Allegheny County with free ball hockey equipment and lesson plans as part of their commitment to physical fitness.
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